Copyright © 2022 American Chemical Society

Role of Zeolite Structural Properties toward Iodine Capture: A Head-to-head Evaluation of Framework Type and Chemical Composition

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces (2022), 14, 16, 18439–18452

DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c01179

During nuclear fuel reprocessing different radioisotopes of iodine are released which needs to be mitigated in a safe and efficient manner.  In this regard, sorbent-based on metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, zeolites, mesoporous silica, and metal functionalized aerogels or xerogels have shown a lot of potential in absorbing radioiodine. Researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, and Polish Academy of Sciences have investigated the structural aspects of zeolite-based sorbents for Iodine gas capture using synchrotron Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy. The study showed that the best performing zeolites when ion-exchanged with Ag+ the iodine gas capture can be improved even at room temperature. 

Brian J. Riley1*, Saehwa Chong1, Julian Schmid2, José Marcial1, Emily T. Nienhuis1, Mrinal K. Bera3, Sungsik Lee4, Nathan L. Canfield1, Sungmin Kim2, Miroslaw A. Derewinski5*, and Radha K. Motkuri1*

1Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, United States

2Physcial and Computational Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, United States

3NSF’s ChemMatCARS, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States

4X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States

5Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 30-239 Cracow, Poland