Preparation of phosphinimide and their adsorption of uranium in aqueous solution

Abstract The phosphinimide materials described in this paper were synthesized by polymerization precipitation. The properties of complexes coordinated with metal ions can be used as adsorbents for the adsorption of radioactive elements by using ligands such as imide and phosphorus groups. Then, the synthetic phosphinimide was characterized in detail by FT-IR, SEM, EDS and XPS, and its morphology and structural changes were studied. In addition, the effects of the material on the removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous solutions at different pH, sorbent doses, contact times, initial concentrations, and temperatures were studied. The experimental data show that the adsorption process can fit the second-order kinetic model well, which is in line with the Langmuir isotherm model. The thermodynamic study of adsorption shows that the adsorption process is a spontaneous endothermic process. In addition, at a temperature of 303.15 K and pH = 6, the maximum adsorption of uranium (VI) by phosphinimide in 25 minutes can reach 276.2 mg⋅g− 1.