In Situ Confined Synthesis of a Copper-Encapsulated Silicalite-1 Zeolite for Highly Efficient Iodine Capture

Abstract

Effective capture of radioactive iodine is highly desirable for decontamination purposes in spent fuel reprocessing. Cu-based adsorbents with a low cost and high chemical affinity for I₂ molecules act as a decent candidate for iodine elimination, but the low utilization and stability remain a significant challenge. Herein, a facile in situ confined synthesis strategy is developed to design and synthesize a copper-encapsulated flaky silicalite-1 (Cu@FSL-1) zeolite with a thickness of ≤300 nm. The maximum iodine uptake capacity of Cu@FSL-1 can reach 625 mg g^-1 within 45 min, which is 2 times higher than that of a commercial silver-exchanged zeolite even after nitric acid and NO<i>_X</i> treatment. The Cu nanoparticles (NPs) confined within the zeolite exert superior iodine adsorption and immobilization properties as well as high stability and fast adsorption kinetics endowed by the all-silica zeolite matrix. This study provides new insight into the design and controlled synthesis of zeolite-confined metal adsorbents for efficient iodine capture from gaseous radioactive streams.