A novel strontium-based MOF: synthesis, characterization, and promising application in removal of (152+154)Eu from active waste

Removal of hazardous radioactive materials such as (152+154)Eu from active waste using the batch approach has attracted attention nowadays. In this work, a novel melamine–terephthalic strontium metal–organic framework (MTSr-MOF) was prepared via a hydrothermal method. The MTSr-MOF was characterized by various analytical techniques such as FT-IR, (1)H/(13)C-NMR, mass spectroscopy, XPS, XRD, TGA, BET, FE-SEM/EDX, TEM, and UV. The obtained data revealed that MTSr-MOF exhibited brick-like building blocks that were bridged together by the linkers, and each block had a thickness of ∼120 nm. The BET surface area was 74.04 m(2) g(−1). MTSr-MOF was used for the removal of (152+154)Eu radionuclides from active waste. Further functionalization using various modifiers, including oxalic acid, EDTA, sulfuric acid, and sodium hydroxide was carried out to improve the sorption efficiency of MTSr-MOF towards (152+154)Eu radionuclides. Among them, MTSr-MOF modified with oxalic acid (MTSr-OX-MOF) demonstrated a superior removal efficiency toward (152+154)Eu radionuclides when compared to MTSr-MOF or other published reports, with a removal efficiency of more than 96%. The higher sorption efficiency of the MTSr-OX-MOF indicates that it could be a promising candidate for the removal of (152+154)Eu radionuclides from radioactive waste