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. 2024 Jun 26;29(13):3031.
doi: 10.3390/molecules29133031.

Preparation of Quaternary Ammonium Separation Material based on Coupling Agent Chloromethyl Trimethoxysilane (KH-150) and Its Adsorption and Separation Properties in Studies of Th(IV)

Zheng Wang  1   2 , Xique Wu  1 , Meichen Liu  2 , Xiaoqiang Zhao  1 , Haichao Wang  1 , Xiangfu Meng  1 , Xiaofei Zhang  3
Affiliations

Preparation of Quaternary Ammonium Separation Material based on Coupling Agent Chloromethyl Trimethoxysilane (KH-150) and Its Adsorption and Separation Properties in Studies of Th(IV)

Zheng Wang et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

In this research, the authors studied the synthesis of a silicon-based quaternary ammonium material based on the coupling agent chloromethyl trimethoxysilane (KH-150) as well as its adsorption and separation properties for Th(IV). Using FTIR and NMR methods, the silicon-based materials before and after grafting were characterized to determine the spatial structure of functional groups in the silicon-based quaternary ammonium material SG-CTSQ. Based on this, the functional group grafting amount (0.537 mmol·g-1) and quaternization rate (83.6%) of the material were accurately calculated using TGA weight loss and XPS. In the adsorption experiment, the four materials with different grafting amounts showed different degrees of variation in their adsorption of Th(IV) with changes in HNO3 concentration and NO3- concentration but all exhibited a tendency toward anion exchange. The thermodynamic and kinetic experimental results demonstrated that materials with low grafting amounts (SG-CTSQ1 and SG-CTSQ2) tended to physical adsorption of Th(IV), while the other two tended toward chemical adsorption. The adsorption mechanism experiment further proved that the functional groups achieve the adsorption of Th(IV) through an anion-exchange reaction. Chromatographic column separation experiments showed that SG-CTSQ has a good performance in U-Th separation, with a decontamination factor for uranium in Th(IV) of up to 385.1, and a uranium removal rate that can reach 99.75%.

Keywords: Th(IV); adsorption; coupling agent; quaternary ammonium; separation material.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preparation procedure of SG-CTSQ and the adsorption process of Th(IV).
Figure 2
Figure 2
SEM images of SG (a), SG-CTS (b), and SG-CTSQ (c).
Figure 3
Figure 3
FTIR spectra of the SG (a), SG-CTS (b), and SG-CTSQ (c).
Figure 4
Figure 4
29Si-MAS NMR spectra of SG (a) and SG-CTS (b).
Figure 5
Figure 5
13C-NMR spectra of SG-CTS (a) and SG-CTSQ (b).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Surface morphology of SG (a), SG-CTS (b), and SG-CTSQ (c).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Thermogravimetric curve of SG-CTS.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Thermogravimetric curves (a) and grafting amount trend (b) of SG-CTSQ(1–8).
Figure 9
Figure 9
XPS spectra of SG (a), SG-CTS (b), and SG-CTSQ (c).
Figure 10
Figure 10
The deconvolution of SG-CTSQ Cl 2p spectra.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Pore size distribution of SG-CTSQ1 to SG-CTSQ4.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Effects of HNO3 and NO3− concentrations on adsorption of Th(IV) by SG-CTSQ1 (a), SG-CTSQ2 (b), SG-CTSQ3 (c), and SG-CTSQ4 (d).
Figure 13
Figure 13
Adsorption kinetics fitting results of Th(IV) on SG-CTSQ1 (a), SG-CTSQ2 (b), SG-CTSQ3 (c), and SG-CTSQ4 (d).
Figure 14
Figure 14
Adsorption isotherm fitting results of Th(IV) on SG-CTSQ1 (a), SG-CTSQ2 (b), SG-CTSQ3 (c), and SG-CTSQ4 (d).
Figure 15
Figure 15
Fitting results of Kc and 1/T of Th(IV): SG-CTSQ1 (a), SG-CTSQ2 (b), SG-CTSQ3 (c), and SG-CTSQ4 (d).
Figure 16
Figure 16
Fitting results of adsorption mechanism.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Elution curves for thorium: SG-CTSQ1 (a), SG-CTSQ2 (b), SG-CTSQ3 (c), and SG-CTSQ4 (d).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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