Adsorption of uranium ions by resins with amidoxime and amidoxime/carboxyl group prepared by radiation-induced polymerization

In order to recover uranium ions from seawater, chelate-type resins with amidoxime and amidoxime/carboxylic acid groups were prepared by radiation-induced polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) and AN/acrylic acid and by subsequent amidoximation of cyano group of poly(AN), respectively. The resins were characterized by FT-IR, FT Raman, solid-state C-13-NMR, SEM, and elemental analysis, respectively. The adsorption rate of uranium ion by resins with the amidoxime/carboxylic acid group were higher than that of resins with the amidoxime group. The adsorption of uranium ions in artificial seawater to chelate-type resins was also examined. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.