Nuclear Seminar - Vipul Vilas Kusumkar (26.2.2025)
Wednesday 26.2.2025 at 14:00, Lecture room F1/364
M.Sc., Dr. Vipul Vilas Kusumkar, PhD. (Department of Nuclear Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava):
MXene-Based Adsorbents for the Efficient Removal of Radionuclides from Aqueous Solutions: A Comprehensive Study on Ba-133 and Cs-137 Sorption
Abstract:
The release of radionuclides such as Ba-133 and Cs-137 into the environment poses significant health and environmental risks due to their long half-lives and harmful radiation emissions. This study investigates the potential of MXene-based materials as highly efficient adsorbents for the removal of these radionuclides from aqueous solutions. MXenes, a class of two-dimensional transition metal carbides and nitrides, were synthesized and characterized, demonstrating exceptional adsorption capacities of 154.9 mg/g for Ba-133 and 121.5 mg/g for Cs-137. Further enhancement was achieved by decorating MXene with Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, resulting in a composite (MXF-30) with significantly improved adsorption capacities of 575.586 mg/g for Ba-133 and 842.586 mg/g for Cs-137. The adsorption mechanisms were explored through detailed material characterization, including BET surface area analysis, and the influence of pH, contact time, and competing ions on sorption efficiency was systematically evaluated. The results indicate that MXene-Fe₃O₄ composites exhibit superior selectivity, stability, and efficiency under varied environmental conditions, making them promising candidates for large-scale radioactive wastewater treatment. This study also highlights the potential of MXene-based materials as cost-effective and tunable sorbents, offering a sustainable solution for mitigating radioactive contamination in water systems.