Ionosilicas as efficient sorbents for anionic contaminants: Radiolytic stability and ion capacity

Ammonium based hybrid ionosilicas were prepared from tetrasilylated ammonium precursors. The formed material exhibited high specific surface area together with mesoporosity. Our results indicate that ionosilicas display high exchange capacity for iodide. They were submitted to 10 MeV electron irradiation at a total dose of 1.7 MGy. Irradiation was shown not to alter the properties of ionosilica: the morphological, textural and surface properties of the material are hardly modified. The sorption properties (sorption capacity and cumulative displacement enthalpy) are similar before and after electron irradiation. This high radiolytical stability confirms that these innovative materials have therefore high potential as anion traps for future applications in decontamination processes or long term storage of radioactive waste.

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