Cellulose acetate assisted synthesis of worm-shaped mesopores of MgP ion-exchanger for cesium ions removal from seawater

In this paper, we designed a novel meso-sorbent (MgP-MS) based on the worm-shaped mesoporous magnesium phosphate nanoparticles that enabled the selective sequestering of extremely radioactive cesium ions from seawater. The chemical and textural features of the meso-sorbent were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), nitrogen adsorption, scanning electron microscope (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and thermal analysis. The fabricated MgP-MS showed an excellent ability to remove cesium from aqueous solutions at a maximum adsorption capacity of 64 mg g(-1) at 25 degrees C through an ion exchange mechanism. The adsorption was found to follow the pseudo-second-order kinetics with the intraparticle diffusion as the rate determining step. Based on our results, this new meso-sorbent exhibits a long-term stability, extraordinary sensitivity, selectivity, reusability, and fast kinetic capturing/trapping and of Cs(I) ions from aqueous synthetic solutions as well as from seawater.