Efficient uranium removal by amidoxime functionalized graphitic carbon nitride and its potential mechanism

In this work, an amidoxime functionalized graphitic carbon nitride (g–C 3 N 4 –AO) was prepared by grafting amidoxime groups onto graphitic carbon nitride (g–C 3 N 4 ). The results of the kinetic and isotherm studies conducted on g–C 3 N 4 –AO indicate it exhibits rapid sorption kinetics by achieving equilibrium in 30 min with a homogeneous surface which performed a maximum sorption capacity of 67.1 mg g −1 . The zeta potential values of the g–C 3 N 4 –AO are between 35 to − 44.3 mV in the pH range of 2.0–11.0. It was further observed that it complexes with uranium ions, which act as bidentate ligands, utilizing the lone pairs on O and N atoms. The empirical evidence strongly suggests that the utilization of g–C 3 N 4 –AO in uranium water remediation can be a promising solution. Graphical abstract