Decontamination of radioactive cesium ions using ordered mesoporous monetite

Abstract

We report herein the fabrication of an environmentally friendly, low-cost and efficient nanostructured mesoporous monetite plate-like mineral (CaHPO₄) as an adsorbent for removal of radioactive cesium ions from aqueous solutions. The phase and textural features of the synthesized mesoporous monetite were well characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, HRTEM, DLS, TGA/TDA, and N₂ adsorption/desorption techniques. The results indicate that the cesium ions were effectively adsorbed by the mesoporous monetite ion-exchanger (MMT-IEX) above pH 9.0. Different kinetic and isotherm models were applied to characterize the cesium adsorption process. The fabricated monetite exhibited a monolayer adsorption capacity up to 60.33 mg g⁻¹ at pH of 9.5. The collected data revealed the higher ability of CaHPO₄ for the removal of Cs(I) from aqueous media in an efficient way.