Electron beam grafting of modifiable ionic liquid adsorbents and their adsorption of uranyl ions

This study presents a modular adsorbent platform for uranium recovery using electron beam (EB) irradiation. A decoupled two-step synthesis involves initiator-free EB grafting of ionic liquids onto hollow mesoporous silica, achieving tunable grafting density (0.89 mmol/g at 50 kGy), followed by functionalization with uranyl-targeting groups. The optimal adsorbent HMS@IL-R1 demonstrates a uranium adsorption capacity of 185.9 mg/g, stable operation across pH 3–11, and 95.1% capacity retention after five cycles. Monte Carlo-optimized reactors enable scalable 100 g-batch synthesis, highlighting the efficacy and scalability of EB technology for a modular and practical pathway for nuclear resource recovery.