Mesoporous carbon nanoparticles (MCNs) have shown great promise for a number of applications, including catalysis, electrochemistry, electrode materials, selective sequestration, drug delivery, and separations chemistry. Its versatility is based on their high surface area, regular ordered pores, tunable pore size and structure, physical durability and low reactivity, diverse potential surface functionalization, and adaptable synthesis routes. Furthermore, their durability in an oxidizing environment, such as that produced by radioactive decay, and ability to protect internal functional groups make them particularly well-suited to radiochemistry applications. Current separation methods for actinides are based on separations methods from the 1950s and 1960s, and rely on highly corrosive solutions of nitric acid to perform the separations. Since this technology was developed, significant advances have been made in separations of materials. We have been developing MCNs for the selective separation of actinides from solution through the use of physisorbed and surface-attached tropolone and bis-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid (HDEHP) functional groups. The ultimate goal of this research is to gain a fundamental understanding of the material properties, allowing synthesis of novel materials to replace the decades-old separations methods currently used in the radiochemistry industry. Such materials could allow for on-site post-detonation identification of fission products, allowing for faster and more effective nuclear forensics analysis.<br/>

Mesoporous carbon nanoparticles for f-element separations

254th National Meeting (2017)

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