Although nuclear power has drawn attention as an alternative to thermal power generation due to its high energy efficiency and low carbon emissions, the danger is currently being highlighted by nuclear accidents such as the one in Fukushima in 2011. Radioactive substances from nuclear accidents, especially cesium-137, have posed a great threat to the ecosystem, which is especially necessary for removal because it releases strong gamma rays and has long half-life (30 years). In order to effectively remove cesium and miniaturize large quantities of radioactive waste from plant operations and possible accidents, development and modification of cesium-selective adsorbent are necessary. Thus, we demonstrate an effective cesium removal by immobilizing the cesium-selective adsorbent, potassium copper hexacyanoferrate (KCuHCF) in cost-effective polymer hydrogels such as poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). It was able to enhance process efficiency by fixing KCuHCF nanoparticles, which are highly dispersible in water and are only tens of nanometers in diameter. Especially, the composite adsorbents exhibit high adsorption capacities (274-308 mg/g), due to evenly distributed nano-adsorbents in hydrogel matrices and additional adsorption sites from carboxylate groups in CMC. In addition, rapid adsorption was also achieved (90.1% removal for 20 mg/L of Cs+ in 1 h), since superhydrophilic hydrogel did not inhibit ions from approaching the internal KCuHCF particles. Moreover, cesium selectivity for competing cations, such as sodium, potassium, and calcium, were evaluated using seawater, and stability for a wide range of pH (3-11) was confirmed. To analyze the cause of outstanding performance, microscopic and spectroscopic characterization such as SEM, XRD, FT-IR, and XPS was performed, and the ion exchange mechanism of potassium and cesium was identified.

Effective removal of Cs+ ions from wastewater by organic-inorganic hybrid adsorbents using potassium copper hexacyanoferrate

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

[Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing)

[How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf)

[Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.