Functionalized GO-doped double network antibacterial hydrogels for efficient uranium extraction from seawater

Uranium extraction from seawater provides the new idea for the development of uranium resources. However, the concentration of uranium in seawater is extremely low (∼3.3 μg/L). Meanwhile, there are a large number of competing ions and microorganisms in the seawater. It is a huge challenge to extract uranium from seawater. In this paper, a double network hydrogels material with effective antifouling ability was prepared for highly efficient uranium sorption. First, poly(hexamethylene biguanide) hydrochloride (PHMB) modified graphene oxide(GO) was prepared (PHMB-GO), and then PHMB-GO was doped into the double network hydrogels structure formed by acrylamide and gelatin in order to obtain (GO-PHMB)_0.4@Gelatin-PAM, which showed the maximum uranium adsorption capacity reached 625.00 mg∙g⁻¹. More importantly, it exhibited excellent selectivity towards uranium(VI) in the presence of multiple coexisting metal ions in simulated seawater. The K_d value for uranium is 1.73 × 10⁴ mL∙g⁻¹, which is far more than other metal ions. The antibacterial and antialgae experiments prove that the adsorption material has a good inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli (E. coli), vibrio vulnificus (V vulnificus) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Therefore, (GO-PHMB)_0.4@Gelatin-PAM is an outstanding candidate for efficient uranium extraction from seawater.