A convenient one-step synthesis of mesoporous ZrO 2 /SBA-15 and its uranium adsorption properties

Mesoporous ZrO2/SBA-15 materials were prepared for the first time by a one-step method using ZrO2 as zirconium source and their uranium (U(VI)) adsorption behavior were studied. The influence of ZrO2 content on the structure, morphology and hydrothermal stability of the obtained ZrO2/SBA-15 was investigated. It was found that the structural order of ZrO2/SBA-15 decreased with increasing ZrO2 content. The hydrothermal stability of SBA-15 was improved by loading of ZrO2. Furthermore, the effects of pH, initial U(VI) concentration, contact time, temperature and ZrO2 content on the U(VI) adsorption capacity were studied. The results demonstrated that the U(VI) adsorption capacity decreased with increasing ZrO2 content and temperature. The adsorption process was found to be well fitted to the Langmuir and pseudo-second-order model. The calculated maximum adsorption capacities were 326 and 294 mg·g−1 for 0.4ZrO2/SBA-15 and 0.8ZrO2/SBA-15 samples at 283 K, respectively. Furthermore, the analysis of thermodynamic parameters (ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS) revealed that the process of U(VI) adsorption onto ZrO2/SBA-15 was feasible, spontaneous and exothermic.