Radiation synthesis of n-vinyl 2-pyrrolidone/acrylonitrile interpenetrating polymer networks and their use in uranium recovery from aqueous systems

Interpenetrating Polymer Networks (IPNs) based on Poly n-vinyl 2-pyrrolidone (PVP) and Acrylonitrile (AN) were prepared by irradiating PVP solutions prepared in AN. PVP/AN mixtures were irradiated by ⁶⁰Co-γ rays at room temperature at a dose rate of 0.5 kGy/hour. IPNs were characterized by using FT-IR and Thermal Analysis techniques. The chelating adsorbents containing amidoxime groups were prepared by the reaction of these IPNs with hydroxylamine in aqueous NaOH solution at 50°C. These amidoxime containing adsorbents were used in adsorption studies for the recovery of uranium from aqueous systems. The adsorption capacity of an IPN with equivolume fraction of PVP and amidoximated PAN was found to be 750mg UO₂²⁺/g dry amidoximated IPN.     

Amidoxime polymers - copper complexes

The aminolysis of nitrile groups in macroporous acrylonitrile-divinylbenzene copolymers leads to amphoteric ion exchange resins with 1.0 - 3.3 mmol/g amidoxime groups content. The starting copolymers were synthesized from the same monomer mixture, but the composition of diluents used were different. The resulting polymers with amidoxime groups have different sorption of Cu(II) ions, the highest values between 1.3 and 3.5 mmol/g at pH 5. EPR and IR spectra were used to indicate the formation of the complexes between Cu(II) ions and amidoxime polymers. On the basis of the EPR parameters structure of complexes formed at different pH and Cu(II) concentration was postulated.     

Uranium sorption from saline lake brine by amidoximated silica

A series of silica sorbents with different content of amidoxime groups were prepared through co-condensation method and applied to extract uranium from saline lake brine. The optimum amidoxime group content was determined and effects of pH on uranium sorption were investigated. Sorption kinetic and isotherms were also investigated. XPS analysis indicated that the adsorption mechanism of uranium was attributed to the interaction between uranyl ion and N in the amidoxime. Amidoximated silica could efficiently absorb the naturally occurring uranium in the saline lake brine samples from Qinghai, China.     

Preparation and characterization of poly(isobutyl methacrylate) microbeads with grafted amidoxime groups

Poly(isobutyl methacrylate) (PiBMA) microspheres with a 800- to 1500-μm diameter range synthesized by suspension polymerization technique were used as the trunk polymer in the preparation of a highly efficient new adsorbent. Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was grafted onto the trunk polymer by pre-irradiation grafting technique. Grafting conditions were optimized, and GMA grafted PiBMA beads were modified with iminodiacetonitrile (IDAN) in ethanol at 80 °C. The nitrile groups were then amidoximated by using 6% (m/v) hydroxylamine hydrochloride in methanol solution. The IDAN modification and the conversion of the nitrile groups to amidoxime were followed by FT-IR spectroscopy. The surface morphology and thermal behavior of the PiBMA and its modificated forms were also characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques further confirming modification and amidoximation.     

Preparation of polysulfone-<Emphasis Type="Italic">graft</Emphasis>-monoazabenzo-15-crown-5 ether porous membrane for lithium isotope separation

Several co-monomers were co-grafted with acrylonitrile onto polyethylene nonwoven fabric to prepare amidoximated sorbents. The grafted co-monomer was found to play an important role in the uranium adsorption capacity and sorption selectivity of amidoximated sorbent in natural seawater in the following order: acrylamide (AAm) < acrylic acid (AA) < itaconic acid (ITA) < methacrylic acid (MAA), which agreed well with the result in U-spike brine. The amidoximated sorbent co-grafted with MAA exhibited the highest uranium adsorption capacity (1.05 mg/g) and the best uranium/vanadium sorption selectivity (U/V mass ratio: ~ 0.95) after 56 days of immersion in natural seawater.     

Characteristics of uranium adsorption by amidoxime membrane synthesized by radiationinduced graft polymerization

Chelating membranes containing amidoxime groups for the recovery of uranium were synthesized by the radiation-induced graft polymerization of acrylonitrile onto high- and low-density polyethylene films, followed by amidoximation of the cyano groups. The amidoxime group contents of both chelating membranes were about 2.0 tool per kilogram of HCl-conditioned membrane. Both amidoxime-group-containing membranes showed maximum uranium adsorption capacity for uranyl solutions between pH 5 and 7. Uranium permeability of the low-density-polyethylene-based chelating membrane was found to be much better than that of the high-densitypolyethylene-based chelating membrane.     

Characteristics of uranium adsorption by amidoxime membrane synthesized by radiation-induced graft polymerization

Chelating membranes containing amidoxime groups for the recovery of uranium were synthesized by the radiation-induced graft polymerization of acrylonitrile onto high- and low-density polyethylene films, followed by amidoximation of the cyano groups. The amidoxime group contents of both chelating membranes were about 2.0 mol per kilogram of HCl-conditioned membrane. Both amidoxime-group-containing membranes showed maximum uranium adsorption capacity for uranyl solutions between pH 5 and 7. Uranium permeability of the low-density-polyethylene-based chelating membrane was found to be much better than that of the high-densitypolyethylene-based chelating membrane.     

Adsorption and Equilibrium Isotherm Study of Removal of Copper (II) Ions from Aqueous Solution by Chemically Modified Abelmoschus esculentus Fibers

The present study explores surface modification of Abelmoschus esculentus by graft copolymerization reaction using acrylonitrile as a monomer and ascorbic acid/H₂O₂ as a redox initiator. Further, polyacrylonitrile grafted fibers were treated with hydroxylamine to convert the nitrile group of the grafted fiber into the amidoxime group to enhance adsorption of copper ions from wastewater. The graft copolymers and amidoximated fibers were characterized by FT-IR and FE-SEM. The effects of physicochemical parameters such as pH of the solution, initial metal ion concentration, and time on Cu(II) adsorption were studied to optimize condition for maximum adsorption. In addition, Langmuir, Freundlich, and Tempkin models were applied to describe the adsorption isotherm of Cu²⁺ ions.     

接枝型偕胺肟树脂/SiO_2功能复合微粒的制备

用偶联剂γ-(甲基丙烯酰氧)丙基三甲氧基硅烷(KH-570)对微米级硅胶进行了表面化学改性,采用溶液聚合法,在改性硅胶微粒表面接枝丙烯腈(AN),制备了接枝微粒PAN/SiO2。用盐酸羟胺对接枝PAN进行偕胺肟(AO)化转变,制得了接枝有偕胺肟树脂(PAO)的复合型功能微粒PAO/SiO2。采用红外光谱(FT-IR)、热失重(TGA)及扫描电子显微镜(SEM)等测试技术,对接枝微粒PAN/SiO2以及功能微粒PAO/SiO2进行了表征,考察了制备条件对AN的接枝聚合过程及对PAN的偕胺肟化转变过程的影响规律。结果表明,适宜的接枝聚合条件为:引发剂质量分数为1.5%,反应温度为75℃。接枝聚合5h可制得接枝度为0.14g/g的接枝微粒PAN/SiO2。受偕胺肟基团空间位阻的影响,PAN的偕胺肟化转变反应不能进行彻底,适宜的PAN/SiO2偕胺肟化转变反应条件为:介质pH值为6～7,温度70℃,反应时间4h。所制得的功能微粒PAO/SiO2腈基转化率约为78%。     

A Dual‐Surface Amidoximated Halloysite Nanotube for High‐Efficiency Economical Uranium Extraction from Seawater

By chemical cross‐linking the amidoxime group onto dual‐surfaces of natural ore materials, namely halloysite nanotubes (HNTs), an efficient adsorbent, AO‐HNTs, is developed. AO‐HNTs show high uranium adsorption capacity of 456.24 mg g^?1 in 32 ppm uranium‐spiked simulated seawater. In natural seawater, AO‐HNTs reach the high uranium extraction capacity of 9.01 mg g^?1 after 30 days’ field test. The dual‐surface amidoximated hollow nanotubular AO‐HNTs exhibit more coordination active sites for uranium adsorption, which is attributed to the high and fast uranium adsorption capacity. Because of the stable natural ore structure, AO‐HNTs also show long service life. Benefiting from the low cost of HNTs, the cost for uranium extraction from seawater is close to the uranium price in the spot uranium market, suggesting that AO‐HNTs could be used for economical extraction of uranium from the oceans.     

Chemical treatments on the cuticle layer enhancing the uranium(VI) uptake from aqueous solution by amidoximated wool fibers

Urea, sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide were used to treat the cuticle layer of wool before graft copolymerization and amidoximation to enhance the uranium uptaking capacity of amidoximated wool fiber based adsorbent (Wool-g-AOs). The wool-g-AOs were used for recovery of U(VI) from aqueous solutions. The simulated nuclear industry effluent was used for investigating the selectivity and industrial applicability of Wool-g-AOs. The adsorption of uranium(VI) on Wool-g-AOs was pH dependent. The Langmuir model fitted well with the equilibrium data. Kinetic data were fitted well to pseudo second order model.

     

Decorating Covalent Organic Frameworks with High-density Chelate Groups for Uranium Extraction

The extraction of uranium from aqueous solution is highly desirable for sustaining the increasing demand for environmental safety and nuclear fuel. Herein, we report a strategy using a two-step covalent modification for the synthesis of covalent organic frameworks(COFs) with high-density amidoxime chelate groups at periphery. The introduction of dense amidoxime groups plays a pivotal role in uranium adsorption. The resulting COF exhibits strong affinity with the distribution coefficient of 5.2×10⁴ mL/g and a high adsorption capacity of 319.9 mg/g. The strategy could be expanded to identify and remove different contaminants by introducing special functional groups.     

Reactions of Amidoximes with Metal-Activated Nitriles

Metal-mediated reactions of amidoximes with nitrile ligands are discussed and recent works of the author are considered to allow the reader to better understand the amidoxime reactivity patterns. General routes of activation of amidoxime and nitrile substrates in the studied reactions are considered. Reactions employing amidoximes as HO- and HN-nucleophiles, as well as reactions of amidoximes with nitrile ligands leading to heterocyclic systems are discussed.     

The uranium recovery from aqueous solutions using amidoxime modified cellulose derivatives. III. Modification of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose with amidoxime groups

Grafting of acrylonitrile on hydroxypropyl methylcellulose films has been carried out by means of ⁶⁰Co-γ radiation, using a constant amount of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose films, at different concentrations of acrylonitrile in dimethylformamide. Grafting percentage—dose curves were obtained. 63 % of grafting yield were reached at around 3 kGy dose. Conversion of nitrile groups to amidoxime groups were achieved by aqueous solutions of NH₂OH·HCl–NaOH at 50 °C. The amidoxime conversion was followed by using FTIR spectrophotometer and determined as percentage. 98 % amidoxime conversion was achieved within 50 h. The structural, morphological and thermal evaluations of acrylonitrile grafted hydroxypropyl methylcellulose films, before and after amidoxime conversion, were performed using FTIR, AFM, Contact Angle, SEM and TGA analyses.     

Leveraging Actinide Hydrolysis Chemistry for Targeted Th and U Separations using Amidoxime-Functionalized Poly(HIPE)s

P olymerized h igh i nternal p hase e mulsions (poly(HIPE)s) are porous polymer monoliths whose synthesis can easily be tailored to allow incorporation of functional units. In this work, nitrile containing poly(HIPE)s have been prepared with either acrylonitrile (AN) or 4-cyanostyrene (4CS) comonomers. Post-synthetic modification of these nitrile-containing poly(HIPE)s yields their corresponding amidoximated analogues, which were studied for actinide uptake. These amidoxime-functionalized, porous polymers were shown to adsorb 95 % Th⁴⁺ species from aqueous solution within 30 minutes. In contrast to other amidoxime containing polymers the uptake of UO₂²⁺ in these poly(HIPE)s is lower under similar conditions. A critical analysis of actinide separations and high-energy X-ray scattering data provides insight into the polymers’ selectivity, enabled by the uptake of multinuclear Th clusters.     

Synthesis of bis(amidoxime)s and evaluation of their properties as uranyl-complexing agents

Uranium pollution involves high toxicity and radioactivity and, therefore, constitutes a grave threat to human health and the environment. Chelation is an effective method for sequestering uranium. It is well known that chelators based on oxime groups are able to complex uranyl cations efficiently. To this end, various bis(amidoxime)s were synthesized by reaction of hydroxylamine with the corresponding dinitriles. In these compounds the amidoximes are separated by chains of various lengths, some including a heterocycle (pyridine or 1,3,5-triazine). The abilities of these bis(amidoxime)s to complex uranyl cation in water were evaluated by determining their affinity constants and thermodynamic parameters by means of Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC). DFT calculations were also performed, to determine the optimum structures of the complexes formed between uranyl cations and the oximate groups. A tetrakis(amidoxime), also synthesized in this work, shows good affinity for uranium, and a single molecule is able chelate several uranyl cations. These results are of importance for the remediation of uranium-polluted wastewaters, and open up several perspectives for the design and synthesis of new amidoxime compounds.     

Constructing amidoxime-modified porous adsorbents with open architecture for cost-effective and efficient uranium extraction

The dense structure of polymeric matrices exposes only 10–20% of adsorption (amidoxime) groups, thus detracting from the extraction efficiency of uranium from seawater. Herein, the amidoxime-modified building units were cross-linked via the Scholl reaction into porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs). Due to the formation of open architecture, PAF adsorbents reveal a larger utilization ratio (>60%) of amidoxime groups. Consequently, PAF samples enable an ultrahigh uranium capacity of 702 mg g⁻¹, which creates a 16-fold capacity enhancement and gains a 7-fold adsorption rate improvement compared with polymer-based adsorbents. Notably, PAF solids are able to be integrated into various devices, thus realizing versatile and efficacious uranium extraction from real seawater (meeting the commercial standard ∼6 mg g⁻¹ in 21 days). In addition, the final cost using our PAF-based adsorbent is US $189.77 per kg uranium, it is in accordance with the prevailing market cost ($100–335 per kg).

The dense structure of polymeric matrices exposes only 10–20% of adsorption (amidoxime) groups, thus detracting from the extraction efficiency of uranium from seawater.     

接枝聚合-大分子反应法在交联聚乙烯醇微球表面接枝聚偕胺肟的研究

以硫酸铈铵为引发剂,实施了丙烯腈(AN)在交联聚乙烯醇(CPVA)微球表面的接枝聚合,制备了接枝微球CPVA-g-PAN,然后以盐酸羟胺为试剂,通过偕胺肟(AO)化转变,将接枝的PAN转变为聚偕胺肟(PAO),制得了接枝有聚偕胺肟的功能微球CPVA-g-PAO,采用红外光谱(FTIR)法、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)及zeta电位测定等法,对功能微球CPVA-g-PAO的化学结构及物理化学特性进行了表征,重点考察了各主要因素对接枝PAN的偕胺肟化转变反应的影响,也以脲酸为模型分子,初探了功能微球CPVA-g-PAO对生物分子的吸附性能.实验结果表明,在腈基的偕胺肟转变反应中,介质pH与反应温度是两个主要影响因素,对于本研究体系,适宜的反应条件是温度70℃,介质pH=6～7.在此条件下,反应4h,可使腈基转化率达到72%.在较大的pH范围内,功能微球CPVA-g-PAO的zeta电位为数值较大的正值,对内源性代谢毒素分子脲酸具有很强的吸附作用,吸附容量达95mg/g。     

Synthesis of novel amidoxime-linked pseudodisaccharides

Disaccharide analogues containing amidoxime interglycosidic linkages have been synthesised by nucleophilic addition of aminomethylene pyranoses to pyranosyl nitrile oxides, generated by dehydrochlorination of the corresponding hydroximoyl chlorides. The structure of the C-xylopyranosyl-N-galactopyranosyl amidoxime 1 was established by X-ray crystallography.     

Design and synthesis of amidine-type peptide bond isosteres: application of nitrile oxide derivatives as active ester equivalents in peptide and peptidomimetics synthesis

Amidine-type peptide bond isosteres were designed based on the substitution of the peptide bond carbonyl (C=O) group with an imino (C=NH) group. The positively-charged property of the isosteric part resembles a reduced amide-type peptidomimetic. The peptidyl amidine units were synthesized by the reduction of a key amidoxime (N-hydroxyamidine) precursor, which was prepared from nitrile oxide components as an aminoacyl or peptidyl equivalent. This nitrile oxide-mediated C-N bond formation was also used for peptide macrocyclization, in which the amidoxime group was converted to peptide bonds under mild acidic conditions. Syntheses of the cyclic RGD peptide and a peptidomimetic using both approaches, and their inhibitory activity against integrin-mediated cell attachment, are presented.