Highly Selective Radioactive 137 Cs + Capture in an Open-Framework Oxysulfide Based on Supertetrahedral Cluster

Li Wang*, Huan Pei, Debajit Sarma, Xian Ming Zhang, Keith MacRenaris, Christos D. Malliakas, Mercouri G. Kanatzidis

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

Removal of 137 Cs + , one of the most hazardous radionuclides, from nuclear waste, is a challenging task because it requires simultaneously high capacity and high selectivity. Chalcogenides offer a great opportunity to design and create high-performance 137 Cs + absorbents. We report a new material (InSnOS) with facile ion-exchange properties. The anionic framework is based on corner-shared pseudo-T4 supertetrahedral oxysulfide [In 8 Sn 12 O 10 S 34 ] 16- clusters, resulting in the formula [In 8 Sn 12 O 10 S 32 ] 12- . The crystal structure features the interpenetration of two independent oxysulfide cluster frameworks which create pincer cavities based on sulfur atoms that prove highly effective for capturing Cs + ions. The binding mode of the Cs + ions by the material was determined by a single crystal structure refinement of a fully ion-exchanged single crystal. The structure determinations show that the small pores created by the two interpenetrating frameworks are the optimal size for capturing Cs + . This advantage makes the material very effective for the removal and recovery of 137 Cs + from aqueous solution. This framework shows not only extremely high exchange capacity (q m ), 537.7 mg per g of anionic [In 8 Sn 12 O 10 S 32 ] 12- framework, ranking it among the best reported Cs + sorbents, but also superior affinity and selectivity when using complex solutions simulating industrial and nuclear waste conditions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1628-1634
Number of pages7
JournalChemistry of Materials
Volume31
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 12 2019

Funding

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant DMR-1708254), the NSFC (51762039 and 21871167), 1331 project, National Plan for 10 000 Talents in China, and 2017XS03.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Materials Chemistry

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