From Radioactive Effluent to Drinking Water: Efficient Removal of Trace 99TcO4−/ReO4− by Cationic Porous Aromatic Framework

• DOI: 10.1002/advs.202414604
• Publication Date: 2025-01-15T02:49:12Z
• Authors: Long‐Sheng Pang; Xiangjun Liao; Chao‐Yue Zhao; Cheng‐Peng Li; Zhong Liu; Shengqian Ma
• Keywords: TRACE (psycholinguistics); Cationic polymerization

Abstract Efficient removal of 99 TcO 4 − from radioactive effluents while recovering drinking water remains a challenge. Herein, an excellent ReO (a nonradioactive surrogate ) scavenger is presented through covalently bonding imidazolium poly(ionic liquids) polymers with ionic porous aromatic framework (iPAF), namely iPAF‐P67, following adsorption‐site density‐addition strategy. It shows rapid sorption kinetics, high uptake capacity, and exceptional selectivity toward . Notably, the residual concentration /ReO in wastewater after iPAF‐P67 treatment as low 0.046 ppb, fully meeting standards World Health Organization (WHO, 0.159 ppb) United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA, 0.053 ppb). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that groups provide stronger electrostatic interactions higher binding energies between anions, leading to its superior adsorption performance. Furthermore, scale‐up synthesized materials are shaped polyethersulfone (PES) fabricate PAF‐P67/PES beads nanofibers via phase inversion method electrospinning technique, respectively. Both composites demonstrate outstanding ultra‐purification abilities meet WHO criteria even multiple dynamic adsorption/desorption cycles. This work develops design strategy for adsorbents applicable sequestration low‐concentration pollutants.