Environmental-friendly preparation of Ni–Co layered double hydroxide (LDH) hierarchical nanoarrays for efficient removing uranium (VI)

With the wide application of nuclear energy and the rapid development of mining, a great quantity of uranium (U(VI)) containing wastewater is inevitably generated. In this work, a facile environmental-friendly coprecipitation method was proposed for the green synthesis of binary layered double hydroxides (Ni–Co LDHW-7), which could be used to efficiently adsorb U(VI) from wastewater. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Dubinin-Radushkevich model fitted well with the adsorption of U(VI) on Ni–Co LDHW-7, the maximum adsorption capacity of U(VI) on Ni–Co LDHW-7 was 201.09 mg/g calculated by the Langmuir model. Adsorption equilibrium reached after 30 min, which is a spontaneous and endothermic process. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) measurements manifested that the favorable U(VI) extraction on Ni–Co LDHW-7 is mainly ascribed to inner-layer surface electrostatic interaction and complexation, which is dominated by abundant oxygen-containing M-OH and interlayer OH− ions. Briefly, this work provides a facial and environmental-friendly Ni–Co LDHW-7 for removing U(VI) in actual uranium-containing wastewater. [Display omitted] •A facile environmental-friendly coprecipitation method was proposed for green synthesis of Ni–Co LDHW-7.•Adsorption capacity of uranium reached 201.09 mg/g calculated by Langmuir model at pH = 6 and 298 K.•Metal hydroxyl group configuration and the hydroxyl groups contributed to U(VI) binding on Ni–Co LDHW-7.•Ni–Co LDHW-7 showed good stability.