Chinese Scientists Develop Record-Breaking Material for Extracting Uranium from Seawater
- MM24 News Desk
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
Researchers from Weifang University and North China Electric Power University have created a novel covalent organic framework that can extract a record-setting 31.5 milligrams of uranium per gram of material from natural seawater in just 24 hours. The breakthrough material, which exhibits a binding affinity 1,000 times stronger than previous designs, could unlock the ocean's vast uranium reserves to power sustainable nuclear energy for centuries.
With terrestrial uranium reserves projected to last only about 70 more years, the quest for alternative sources of nuclear fuel has never been more urgent. The world's oceans, however, hold a staggering solution—an estimated 4.5 billion tons of dissolved uranium, enough to power nuclear reactors for millennia if it can be efficiently harvested.
The extreme dilution of uranium in seawater and the interference from other metal ions have made this goal notoriously difficult, but a new study reveals a material that shatters previous performance records.
The research, published in Sustainable Carbon Materials, was led by Dr. Xishi Tai of Weifang University and Dr. Zhenli Sun of North China Electric Power University. Their team engineered a special type of sulfonic covalent organic framework (S-COF) with a unique layered architecture.
The key innovation lies in what the researchers call "stacking mode engineering," a method of precisely controlling how the two-dimensional layers of the material are arranged on top of one another.
“Our study introduces a new design concept called stacking mode engineering,” said Dr. Tai, the study's lead author. “By carefully controlling the geometric arrangement of the COF layers, we have created a confined space that perfectly matches the shape and coordination preferences of uranium ions.”
This specific AB stacking mode creates a tailored molecular pocket where sulfonic acid groups form a four-point cage around each uranium ion, leading to exceptionally strong and selective capture.
The performance metrics are transformative. The team's AB-stacked S-COFs demonstrated a uranium binding affinity approximately 1,000 times stronger than frameworks with a more conventional AA stacking geometry.
When tested in real-world conditions using natural seawater from the Bohai Sea, the material extracted 31.5 milligrams of uranium per gram of sorbent in a single day. According to the study, this is the highest extraction capacity ever reported for a material in unspiked, natural seawater.
The material also solved a major persistent problem: selectivity. In the complex chemical soup of the ocean, ions like vanadium often compete with uranium for binding sites, reducing efficiency and purity. This new framework effectively ignored these competitors, selectively capturing uranium with unprecedented precision.
“This is the highest performance ever reported for uranium extraction from natural seawater,” stated Dr. Sun. “We believe our work opens new doors not only for uranium recovery but for designing materials suited to target specific ions in complex environments.”
While the laboratory success is a monumental step forward, the path to industrial-scale uranium farming from seawater remains long. The scientists note that future materials must not only be highly efficient but also durable enough to withstand corrosive ocean conditions, easily regenerated for multiple uses, and cost-effective to produce on a massive scale. This research, however, provides a powerful new blueprint for the molecular design needed to get there.
This breakthrough brings the vision of seawater-derived nuclear fuel closer to reality. Tapping into this nearly limitless resource could provide a sustainable fuel supply for carbon-neutral nuclear power, enhancing energy security and supporting global decarbonization efforts for generations to come.
Comments