Selective and antibacterial zinc phosphonate framework system for superior marine uranium harvesting

Efficient utilization of uranium in seawater provides a viable and sustainable solution to supply the growing demand for nuclear energy. Adsorbents used for uranium extraction from seawater are usually disturbed by co-existing ions and contaminated by organisms. In this study, a zinc phosphonate framework system (ZMP 2 -6) with zoledronic acid as a ligand was fabricated via a facile one-step mixing method at room temperature, which possesses great adsorption performance, high selectivity and outstanding antibacterial ability. The high porosity and rich binding sites endowed ZMP 2 -6 with an extremely high adsorption capacity of 1695.5 mg/g at 25°C. Remarkably, ZMP 2 -6 selectively extracted 18.0 mg/g uranium from natural seawater in only 1 month with a higher distribution coefficient against other coexisting metal ions. In addition, ZMP 2 -6 exhibited excellent bacteriostatic ability against Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) and Escherichia coli ( E. coli ), which was greatly desired in real uranium extraction from seawater. Noteworthily, ZMP 2 -6 can be easily assembled into adsorption modules and grow on different carriers, which significantly improves uranium separation efficiency and practical applicability. This work rationally engineered a zinc phosphonate framework system and provided a strategy for highly efficient uranium capture from the ocean.