Cellulose acetate/EDTA-chelator assisted synthesis of ordered mesoporous HAp microspheres for efficient removal of radioactive species from seawater

High exposure to radioactive metal ions, such as uranium (U(VI)) and cesium (Cs(I)), potentially has adverse effects and can cause severe health problems leading to a number of specific diseases. This study primarily aims to facile synthesis self-functionalized mesoporous ion-exchanger for the removal of trace concentrations of radioactive ions from water in an efficient way. The fabricated mesoporous flaky flower-like hydroxyapatite ion-exchanger (MFF-HAp) with its 3D hexagonal mesopore structure has advantages of high surface area, natural surfaces, and active acid sites can strongly induce ion-exchange with uranyl and cesium ions. It was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, N2 adsorption/desorption and thermal analysis (TGA/DTA). From the engineering point of view, it offers a simple and one-step capture procedure for the decontamination of Cs(I) and U(VI) from their solutions. The interesting findings in this study are the ion-selectivity exhibited by MFF-Hap toward the target U(VI) and Cs(I) ions in environmental and nuclear waste disposal samples, and its reproducibility/durability over a number of regeneration cycles. These unique properties of MFF-HAp ion-exchanger render it as promising durable material for efficient radioactive species accommodation.