The development of new pathways for efficient nuclear waste administration and processing of various nuclear wasteforms is a pressing goal in the nuclear waste sector. Preparation of novel materials to address the current challenges, including but not limited to, selective sequestration and separation of radionuclides, followed by temporary storage, is essential to address societal needs. In this regard, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a notable candidate for sequestration and temporary storage due to their high surface area, abundant porosity, and tunable chemical properties. The innovative strategy to sequester radionuclides from solution using the porosity of MOFs is discussed. In particular, radionuclide species release from Zr-based MOFs could be controlled as a function of postsynthetically installed capping linker. In addition, the stability of a prepared Zr-based MOF was probed under gamma irradiation for the first time. Overall, the presented kinetic and stability studies showcase MOFs as a viable nuclear wasteform material.

Radionuclide leaching kinetics as a function of linker installation in metal-organic frameworks

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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