Fabrication of sodium titanate nanospheres as efficient sorbent for the removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution

The flower-like sodium titanate nanospheres (Na-TNS) were synthesized by the facile and hydrothermal method. The effect of environmental factors on the sorption of U(VI) on as-prepared Na-TNS was conducted by batch techniques. The maximum sorption capacity of Na-TNS for U(VI) fitted by Langmuir model was 18934 mg/g at pH 5.0 and T = 298 K. It was determined from recycle experiment that Na-TNS was a reusable and steady nanomaterial with the high sorption performance. The analysis of XPS results indicated that the high resolution Ti 2p spectra after sorption shifted to higher binding energy, which was due to the interactions of U(VI) with the TiO6 octahedron. Therefore, Na-TNS can be utilized as an effective and sustainable sorbent to deal with U(VI) contamination in aqueous environmental cleanup. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.