Carbon dots and polyurethane composite for photo-induced elimination of uranium under air atmosphere

Uranium is the main fuel of nuclear power and elimination uranium from nuclear wastewater is sig-nificant both in environmental protection and fuel recycle. Here we report for the first time the syn-thesis of carbon dots/polyurethane (CDs/PU) composite materials for the photoinduced elimination of uranium from water. Irradiated with visible light, CDs/PU could eliminate uranium efficiently with the generation of (UO2)O2 & BULL;2H2O as solid products in air. The further investigated mechanism showed that the addition of CDs/PU could produce more H2O2 under visible light, which reacted with uranyl ions to form (UO2)O2 & BULL;2H2O. Importantly, the sponge-like CDs/PU could be easily removed from water with high reusability as the elimination efficiency remained above 95% after 5 cycles. CDs/PU also displayed good selectivity in the presence of other metal ions. Our work affords exciting strategies for developing photocatalysts and eliminating uranium from water.& COPY; 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.