Synthesis of aminophosphonate-functionalised ZnO/polystyrene-butadiene nanocomposite and its characteristics for uranium adsorption from phosphoric acid

ABSTRACT

A new ZnO/polystyrene-butadiene (ZnO/PSBN) and aminophosphonate (Ap) functionalised ZnO/PSBN nanocomposites synthesised via chemical processes. Scanning electron microscopy, BET isotherm studies, X-ray diffraction, and FTIR spectra measurements were used to identify ZnO/PSBN and Ap-ZnO/PSBN nanocomposites. Batch adsorption was fulfilled to determine the uptake capacities of U(VI) (82.8, and 139.8 mg/g) on the ZnO/PSBN and Ap-ZnO/PSBN nanocomposites respectively from crude phosphoric acid for 60 min contact time at room temperature. The adsorption-desorption discovered that U(VI) adsorption had excellent stability and selectivity after ten cycles by 0.5 M/L HNO₃. The kinetic data of uranium adsorption on the ZnO/PSBN and Ap-ZnO/PSBN nanocomposites suited well to the pseudo-second-order effective mechanism, and the equilibrium adsorption experiments followed a Langmuir model. The optimum conditions of Ap-ZnO/PSBN nanocomposite applied to crude phosphoric acid for uranium recovery.

KEYWORDS:

• Polystyrene-butadiene
• aminophosphonate
• nanocomposite
• uranium
• phosphoric acid

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.