Branched Fibrous Amidoxime Adsorbent with Ultrafast Adsorption Rate and High Amidoxime Utilization for Uranium Extraction from Seawater

Fibrous sorbent materials with amidoxime (AO) groups are promising adsorbents for uranium extraction from seawater. However, low AO adsorption group utilization remains an issue .

Herein, we We herein fabricated a branched structure containing AO groups on polypropylene/polyethylene spun-laced nonwoven (PP/PE SNW) fibers using grafting polymerization induced by radiation (RIGP) to improve AO utilization. The chemical structures, thermal properties, and surface morphologies of the raw and treated PP/PE SNW fibers were studied. The results show that an adsorptive functional layer with a branching structure was successfully anchored to the fiber surface.