Salophen functionalized hydrothermal carbon spheres for selective removal of U(VI)

In this work, the functional group of salophen with high affinity to U(VI) was grafted to hydrothermal carbon spheres (HCSs) to improve the adsorptive ability for U(VI). Through the application of scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and zeta potential measurement, the micro-morphology, functional group, and surface charge of the adsorbents was characterized. Comprehensive investigation of the factors affected U(VI) adsorbed by HCSs and salophen group modified HCSs (HCSs-sal) were conducted. Different types of kinetic and thermodynamic models were utilized to explore the adsorption processes. The results of this study, indicated that the adsorption of U(VI) on HCSs-sal fitted well to Langmuir equations with the monolayer capacity of 332.51 mg g –1 . Furthermore, the adsorptive selectivity of HCSs for U(VI) was also remarkably enhanced after functionalization with the salophen group. Overall, HCSs-sal appears to have the potential to be a prospective candidate for the selective adsorption of U(VI).