Amphiphilic ligand in situ assembly of uranyl active sites and selective interactions of molybdenum disulfide.

Removal of radioactive uranyl ions (UO) from water by effective adsorbents is highly desired but remains a challenge. UO are easily combined with HO, and the polarization of HO affects the complexation between UO and the adsorbent. Thus, it is necessary to reconstruct the UO active site to improve the adsorption capacity. Herein ，an amphiphilic ligand, namely N, N-dimethyl-9-decenamide (NND), is successfully prepared. NND replace HO in [UO(HO)] by hydrogen bonding, thereby enhancing the adsorption capacity of MoS particles in the reconstituted UO active sites. The predicted maximum adsorption capacity increased from 50.7 to 500.7 mg g (by a factor of 9.87) with the presence of NND, which is higher than other functional group-modified MoS adsorbents. Furthermore, NND and MoS can retain UO uptake under extreme conditions including high acid-base and gamma irradiation. Theoretical Calculations of NND through H bonding produces an increased amount of charge transfer and a reduced adsorption energy between UO and MoS, which weakens the polarization effect of HO. The findings showed that NND appeared to be a promising amphiphilic to improve the adsorption efficiency of UO from water.