Selective sorption of uranium from aqueous solution by graphene oxide-modified materials

The effect of competing ions on the sorption behaviour of uranium onto carboxyl-functionalised graphene oxide (COOH-GO) were studied in batch experiments in comparison to graphene oxide (GO) and graphite. The effect of increasing the abundance of select chemical functional groups, such as carboxyl groups, on the selectivity of U sorption was investigated. In the course of the study, COOH-GO demonstrated superior performance as a sorbent material for the selective removal of uranyl ions from aqueous solution with a distribution coefficient of 3.72 ± 0.19 × 10(3) mL g(−1) in comparison to 3.97 ± 0.5 × 10(2) and 2.68 ± 0.2 × 10(2) mL g(−1) for GO and graphite, respectively. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s10967-018-5741-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.