Construction of mesoporous Si-Fe-GO composite for the highly efficient removal of uranium

The mesoporous Si-Fe-GO composite was prepared by sol-gel method to remove uranium. In the static adsorption process, the Si-Fe-GO composite possessed strong uranium-chelating ability with fast uranium adsorption kinetic (120 min) and high uranium adsorption capacity (576.4 mg/g). The adsorption behavior perfectly followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models, revealing the nature of monolayer chemical adsorption. The tolerance experiments of coexisting ions showed that the Si-Fe-GO composite possessed a strong affinity for uranium, which was beneficial for the enrichment of uranium in a multicomponent wastewater system. The good regeneration ability also reflected the practical application value of the Si-Fe-GO composite. Besides, the dynamic adsorption studies showed that the Si-Fe-GO composite might be suitable for the remediation of uranium-containing wastewater with low flow rate and low uranium concentration. In conclusion, this work would contribute to the development of functional SiO2 materials for water remediation and meet the practical requirements for the cleanup of uranium from wastewater.