Furfuryl alcohol functionalized graphene for sorption of radionuclides

In this study, graphene was functionalized with furfuryl alcohol (FA) through the Diels-Alder reaction. The as-prepared FA functionalized graphene (FAG) was characterized by XRD, Raman, TEM, AFM, FT-IR and TG. The sorption performance of the obtained FAG toward radionuclides was evaluated. The maximum sorption capacities from the Langmuir model were calculated to be 1.178, 1.947, 1.431 and 1.608 mmol g−1 for U(VI), Eu(III), Sr(II), and Co(II), respectively, at T = 303 K and pH = 3.0, indicating the hierarchical binding affinity of the FAG surface toward the radionuclides in the order Eu(III) > Co(II) > Sr(II) > U(VI). Based on the experimental results presented in this study, it is clear that FAG can be potentially used as a promising candidate for the sorption of radionuclides.