Anion-adaptive crystalline cationic material for 99TcO4− trapping

Efficient anion recognition is of great significance for radioactive 99 TcO 4 − decontamination, but it remains a challenge for traditional sorbents. Herein, we put forward a tactic using soft crystalline cationic material with anion-adaptive dynamics for 99 TcO 4 − sequestration. A cucurbit[8]uril-based supramolecular metal-organic material is produced through a multi-component assembly strategy and used as a sorbent for effective trapping of TcO 4 − . Excellent separation of TcO 4 − /ReO 4 − is demonstrated by fast removal kinetics, good sorption capacity and high distribution coefficient. Remarkably, the most superior selectivity among metal-organic materials reported so far, together with good hydrolytic stability, indicates potential for efficient TcO 4 − removal. The structure incorporating ReO 4 − reveals that the supramolecular framework undergoes adaptive reconstruction facilitating the effective accommodation of TcO 4 − /ReO 4 − . The results highlight opportunities for development of soft anion-adaptive sorbents for highly selective anion decontamination. Efficient anion recognition and trapping is of great significance for anion-specific separation processes but the design of an anion-adaptive sorbents remains a challenge. Here the authors use a cucurbit[8]uril based soft cationic supramolecular material as efficient sorbent for TcO 4 − ions.