The synthesis of a novel titanium oxide aerogel with highly enhanced removal of uranium and evaluation of the adsorption mechanism

A TiO 2 aerogel with a high removal percentage and adsorption capacity was manufactured via template synthesis. Subsequently, the as-prepared TiO 2 aerogel was characterized by various techniques and applied as an adsorbent for the removal of U( vi ). The results revealed that the U( vi ) adsorption was very rapid and reached apparent equilibrium within 100 min. The maximum removal percentage was 97.1%, which was calculated using the pseudo-second-order kinetic model ( T = 298 K, t = 180 min, pH = 5, m / V = 0.1 g L −1 and C 0 = 10 mg g −1 ). The Langmuir isotherm model was used to determine the maximum adsorption capacity and it achieved 638.0 mg g −1 ( T = 298 K, pH = 5 and m / V = 0.1 g L −1 ). In addition, the removal of U( vi ) on the TiO 2 aerogel was relatively good in acidic solution and the removal behavior was independent of the influence of ionic strength. The removal percentage of the as-prepared TiO 2 aerogel was higher than 90% after five cycles. Due to these excellent properties such as easy recovery, fast adsorption kinetics, high adsorption capacity and high removal percentage, the TiO 2 aerogel might become an extremely employable adsorbent for the extraction of U( vi ) in seawater. A TiO 2 aerogel with a high removal percentage and adsorption capacity was manufactured via template synthesis.