Electrospinning of layered metal sulfide@polymer fibers for controllable membrane separation toward U(VI).

For highly efficient solid-liquid separation after uranium adsorption from acidic wastewater, layered metal sulfide@polymer nanofibers, KMS-1@PVA/PAA, KMS-2@PVA/PAA, and KTS-3@PVA/PAA, were successfully synthesized. The outcomes of batch adsorption experiments revealed that uranium(VI) removal on three nanofibers exhibited dependency on pH and almost no dependency on ionic strength. The membrane separation experiment indicated that the adsorption capacities for KMS-1@PVA/PAA, KMS-2@PVA/PAA, and KTS-3@PVA/PAA were 234.78 mg/g, 254.18 mg/g, and 205.05 mg/g, respectively, ranking competitive position among the reported fiber materials. The determined kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamic parameters proved the layered metal sulfide@polymer nanofiber were prone to adsorb uranium in acidic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]