Smart Photonic Crystal Hydrogel Material for Uranyl Ion Monitoring and Removal in Water. (22nd August 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xiao, Fubing; Sun, Yongfang; Du, Wenfang; Shi, Wenhui; Wu, Yan; Liao, Shuzhen; Wu, Zhaoyang; Yu, Ruqin
• Is Part Of: Advanced functional materials. Volume 27:Number 42(2017)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2017-08-22
• Subjects: hydrogels -- monitoring and removal -- photonic crystals -- uranyl ions; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201702147
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1616-301X

Abstract

Abstract: Uranyl ion (UO2 2+ ) pollution is a serious environmental problem, and developing novel adsorption materials is essential for UO2 2+ monitoring and removal. Although some progress is achieved, it is still a challenging task to develop an adsorption material with indicating signal for real‐time evaluation of the adsorption degree and the UO2 2+ concentration. Herein, this paper describes a smart photonic crystal hydrogel (PCH) material, which not only can be used for real‐time monitoring function but also can be utilized for UO2 2+ removal based on the chelation of UO2 2+ with ligand groups in PCH material. The working principle is based on the binding of a uranyl ion to multiple ligand groups, which results in the shrinkage of PCH material and triggers a blue‐shift of diffraction wavelength. Consequently, the adsorption degree and the UO2 2+ concentration can be sensitively evaluated by measuring the diffraction shift or observing the color change with naked eye. With this PCH material, the lowest detectable concentration for UO2 2+ is 10 × 10 −9 m, and the maximum adsorption capacity at 298 K is 169.67 mmol kg −1 . In addition, this material also holds good selectivity and regeneration feature, and shows desirable performance for UO2 2+ analysis in real water samples. Abstract : A smart photonic crystal hydrogel material is successfully developed for simultaneous monitoring and removal of uranyl ion via combining the indicating function of photonic crystal with the adsorption capability of hydrogel. This material provides a sensitive indicating signal to estimate the adsorption degree or the UO2 2+ concentration and shows high removal efficiency.