Here, we propose the use of carboxyl-functionalized ionic liquid, [Hbet][Tf 2 N], to separate the fission products from spent nuclear fuels. This innovative method allows the selective dissolution of neutron poisons, lanthanides oxide, as well as some fission products with high yield, leaving most of the UO 2 matrix and minor actinides behind in the spent nuclear fuel and accomplishing the actinides recovery as a group. Water-saturated [Hbet][Tf 2 N] can dissolve lanthanides oxide from simulated spent nuclear fuel with a dissolution ratio of 100% at 40 °C. However, the dissolution of uranium is almost negligible (<1%) under the same conditions. This big difference in dissolution provides a novel separation approach to spent nuclear fuel recycling and may open new perspectives for spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. The recovery of Nd and U from metal-loaded ionic liquids and the recyclability of the ionic liquid [Hbet][Tf 2 N] have also been investigated. Furthermore, a U/x value related to the lattice energy U of metal compound M x O y is used to elaborate the solubility. This work represents the first case for efficient fission products removal by selective dissolution, avoiding the complete dissolution of spent nuclear fuel, the producing of the large high-level radioactive waste, and reducing environmental hazards.

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Bioinspired nanoporous membranes show great potential in ionic separation and water filtration by offering high selectivity with less permeation resistance. However, complex processes always limit their applications. Here, we report a convenient approach to introduce ionic selective channels in a micron-thick polycarbonate membrane through swift heavy ion irradiation accompanied by UV sensitization and pulsed-electrical etching. The characteristic dimension of channels was tuned through regulating energy loss of the incident ion and UV sensitization time of the membrane, resulting in the subnanoporous membranes with mean channel diameter ranging from <2.4 to 9.7 Å. These membranes showed the voltage-activated ionic transport properties associated with the dehydration effect, and the corresponding I−V characteristics were related to ionic strength, solution pH, ionic type, and channel diameter. It was found that the transmembrane conduction of multivalent ions was severely suppressed compared to monovalent ions, until the size of the membrane channel was comparable to the hydrated diameter of multivalent ions. Ionic sieving experiments also demonstrated the excellent ionic valence selectivity of the membrane. Even for the membrane with a channel diameter close to 1 nm, the Li + /Mg 2+ separation ratio was still as high as 40, and an even higher separation ratio was found for Li + /La 3+ (>3000).

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