Spidroin‐Inspired, High‐Strength, Loofah‐Shaped Protein Fiber for Capturing Uranium from Seawater

Abstract

The unique three‐dimensional structure of spidrion determines the outstanding mechanical properties of the spider silk fiber. Inspired by the similarity of the three‐dimensional structure of superb‐uranyl binding protein (SUP) to that of spidroin, a dual‐SUP (DSUP) chimeric protein fiber with high tensile strength is designed. The DSUP hydrogel fiber exhibits a loofah‐shape structure by the cross‐interaction of the protein nanofiber. Full exposure of abundant functional uranyl‐binding sites in the stretchable loofah‐shape hydrogel protein fiber give the DSUP fiber a groundbreaking uranium extraction capacity of 17.45 mg g−1 with an ultrashort saturation time of 3 days in natural seawater. This work reports the design of an adsorbent with ultrahigh uranium extraction capacity and explores a strategy for fabricating artificial high‐strength functional non‐spidroin protein fiber.

High-Capacity Amidoxime-Functionalized β-Cyclodextrin/Graphene Aerogel for Selective Uranium Capture

“…Combining amidoxime with other functional groups such as amino and carboxyl can further improve the adsorption capacity and selectivity. It is imperative to develop novel functional ligands in coordination with the amidoxime group to enhance selectivity and capacity simultaneously. ,− Among the variety of candidates, β-cyclodextrin (βCD) derivatives have demonstrated great potentials for uranium extraction according to the host–guest interaction and complexation effect. − Particularly, carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin (CMCD) displays attractive uranium enrichment characteristics, which is attributed to its rich oxygen-containing functional groups . Besides, CMCD also favors to form a graphene aerogel with improved mechanical strength …”

Covalent Organic Framework Sponges for Efficient Solar Desalination and Selective Uranium Recovery

“…With the advantages of high energy density and low carbon emission, nuclear energy will become the main clean energy supply in the near future. , Uranium is a key element of nuclear energy, − and recovering uranium from seawater is one of the most promising strategies to solve the problem of uranium resources. , In addition, since 97% of the earth’s water is stored in the ocean, , seawater desalination plays a growingly important role in freshwater production. − Solar-driven evaporation has a low carbon footprint and is one of the most promising sustainable freshwater production technologies. , Current research is mainly focused on either uranium recovery or solar desalination − but has not yet jointly solved these two important issues, despite the fact that both are focused on the same sample: seawater. A synergistic platform for solar desalination and uranium recovery may solve the shortage of fresh water and clean energy.…”

Accelerated Chemical Thermodynamics of Uranium Extraction from Seawater by Plant‐Mimetic Transpiration

“…[ 1 , 4 ] Thus, the sustainable extraction of uranium from seawater is considered a promising approach for the long‐term sustainable development of nuclear power. Many types of uranium adsorbents have been developed for the efficient recovery of uranium from seawater, [ 5 ] including inorganic materials, [ 6 ] synthetic organic molecules/polymers, [ 7 ] natural or modified protein/biomass‐based macromolecules, [ 8 ] and various types of nanostructured adsorbents such as grafted polymeric porous supports, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), [ 9 ] covalent–organic frameworks (COFs), [ 10 ] porous carbons, [ 11 ] porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs), [ 12 ] and porous organic polymers (POPs). [ 13 ] However, a large number of technical difficulties are associated with the processing of the massive quantities of seawater required for uranium extraction because of the extremely low uranium concentration (3.3 ppb) in seawater.…”