Efficient removal of radionuclide U(VI) from aqueous solutions by using graphene oxide nanosheets

In this paper, few-layered graphene oxide nanosheets were synthesized by using modified Hummers' method. Because of their high surface area and abundant functional groups for binding U(VI) ions, the graphene oxide nanosheets were applied as adsorbents to preconcentrate U(VI) ions from aqueous solutions by using batch technique. The results indicated that the sorption of U(VI) on graphene oxide nanosheets were strongly dependent on pH and independent of ionic strength, and the sorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. The sorption capacities of U(VI) on graphene oxides were much higher than any other reported values of todays' materials, indicating that the graphene oxides may be a promising material for the preconcentration and solidification of U(VI) from large volumes of aqueous solutions in radionuclide pollution cleanup in near future.