Porous ZIF-8@polyacrylonitrile composite beads for iodine capture

The safe and effective capture and storage of iodine from nuclear waste is of great significance in industry. This article reports the preparation of a series of millimeter-sized ZIF-8@polyacrylonitrile composite beads with high specific surface area and porosity by the phase inversion method for iodine capture. The composite beads showed a higher capture capacity (4150 mg g(−1)) under excess iodine vapor. The amount of iodine adsorbed in the organic solution is also as high as 643 mg g(−1), and the adsorption conforms to the Freundlich isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Moreover, composite beads also exhibit higher thermal stability (310 °C). Therefore, ZIF-8@polyacrylonitrile composite beads show great potential as a material for capturing and temporarily storing radioactive iodine.