Decontamination of radionuclides by functionalized mesoporous silica under gamma irradiation

Schiff base functionalized mesoporous silica (SA-SBA-15) was synthesized by the co-condensation method to remove the radioactive corrosion products from contaminated water coming from nuclear installations. SA-SBA-15 nanoparticles were first irradiated in a solid powder form and then applied to remove Cu(ii), Ni(ii), and Co(ii) from their aqueous mixture in the range from 0 to 1000 Gy of gamma irradiation. The FTIR, TGA, zeta potential, XRD, BET, TEM, and CHN analysis results revealed the stability of a ligand support material, mesopore ordering and the functional groups. The structural and functional group endurance under our studied gamma irradiation makes SA-SBA-15 a potential adsorbent for routine decontamination and decommissioning activities as well as in radioactively contaminated emergency scenarios. Furthermore, the adsorbent-metal complexation followed the Irving–Williams order (Cu(ii) > Ni(ii) > Co(ii)) and showed a higher selectivity for Cu(ii) with removal capacity up to 99.76 ± 0.01%, thus suggesting its applicability to separate Cu(ii) from other metal ions.