Synthesis of phytic acid-decorated titanate nanotubes for high efficient and high selective removal of U(VI)

•Phytic acid modified titanate nanotubes (PA/TNTs) composite was synthesized by one-pot method.•The sorption kinetics of U(VI) on PA/TNTs achieved equilibrium within 6 h.•The maximum sorption capacity at 293 K and pH 5.0 was 1.16 × 10−3 mol/g.•PA/TNTs showed a higher sorption selectivity towards U(VI) than other coexisting metal ions.•Macroscopic and spectral analysis suggested a removal mechanism of inner-sphere complexation.

In this study, the inorganic-organic hybrid of PA/TNTs was synthesized and characterized by using multiple analysis techniques. Batch experiments were conducted to investigate the removal performance of PA/TNTs towards U(VI). The sorption kinetics procedure achieved equilibrium within 6 h. The maximum sorption capacity at 293 K and pH 5.0 was calculated to be 1.16 × 10−3 mol/g. In addition, the PA/TNTs composite showed a higher sorption selectivity towards U(VI) over many other metal ions. The ionic strength experiments, desorption results, X-ray diffraction (XRD), solid fluorescence, extended X-ray adsorption fine structure (EXAFS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis suggested the predominant sorption mechanism was inner-sphere complexation rather than ion exchange or precipitation. Overall, the synthesized PA/TNTs composite could be utilized as a cost-effective material for the removal of U(VI) from wastewater.