Radiation synthesis of amidoxime functional EVOH/MXene nanofiber film for uranium extraction from seawater and desalination

•EVOH/MXene-g-AO nanofiber film was synthesized using electrostatic spinning.•The adsorbents obtained a high capacity of 13.06 mg g−1 from seawater.•The introduction of MXene nanomaterials realized the photothermal synergy.•Nanoscale size and superhydrophilic properties enhance affinity with uranium.•The adsorbent has high reusability, mechanical and antibacterial properties. The simultaneous realization of multifunctionalization and high efficiency of seawater-uranium extraction materials are essential; however, this is extremely challenging. In this work, a novel multifunctional hybrid nanofiber film (NF) with excellent photothermal conversion properties based on ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH), MXene and amidoxime (AO), named EVOH/MXene-g-AO, is firstly prepared by combining electrospinning with radiation technique. The EVOH/MXene-g-AO film exhibits highly efficient photothermal conversion properties, with a fast water evaporation rate (1.67 kg m-2h−1) under 1 solar irradiation. Moreover, this property makes the EVOH/MXene-g-AO film conducive to efficient uranium extraction under sunlight, and enables the adsorption capacity of the EVOH/MXene-g-AO film in simulated seawater to be 13.06 mg g−1 in 60 days, which is about 1.5 times higher compared to the light-free environment. In addition, after eight adsorption-regeneration cycles, the reuse rate of EVOH/MXene-g-AO is as high as 87.4 %. More importantly, the EVOH/MXene-g-AO film exhibits good antibacterial ability, thus the well-designed film has a long service life in practical applications. Finally, EVOH/MXene-g-AO film is successfully applied for the efficient uranium extraction from seawater (UES) and seawater of desalination. This work provides a new strategy for marine uranium extraction and freshwater resource exploitation.