Hierarchical porous aerogel constructed from in-situ assembled zein nanoparticles for sustainable radioactive iodine capture

The efficient remediation of radioactive iodine is one of the pivotal issues constraining the sustainable advancement of nuclear energy. Herein, a green aerogel adsorbent based on the composite of zein nanoparticles (ZNPs) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was proposed for the effective capture of iodide ions from water. The uniform loading of ZNPs was implemented by in-situ crosslinking self-assembly technique using CMC as supporting skeleton. The ZNPs-CMC composite aerogel combined abundant active sites and optimized pore structure, achieving an optimal adsorption capacity of 2092.74 mg/g. The liquid-phase iodide ion adsorption process was dominated by heterogeneous surface chemisorption. The multi-path synergy including electrostatic interaction, halogen bonding and charge transfer endowed the ZNPs-CMC aerogels with outstanding iodine trapping properties. It maintained good structural stability and high adsorption selectivity in complex environments. After 8 cycles, the composite aerogel still preserved more than 80 % of the initial adsorption efficiency, confirming the favorable regeneration performance and promising engineering applications. The work achieved the innovative application of natural polymer-based materials in the management of radioactive pollutants through multi-stage pore design and functional site integration.