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Interface study of the conjugates of magnetic nanoparticles with actinide chelator for nuclear waste separation


EMSL Project ID
39391

Abstract

Magnetic separation of actinide radionuclide waste can be achieved by utilizing magnetic nanoparticle-chelator (MNP-Che) conjugates. This novel separation method for used nuclear fuel attracts lots of attention due to its minimum secondary waste generation and versatility of removing transuranics from nuclear wastes. Our recent results with environmentally benign oxa-diamide chelator conjugated Fe-FeOx core shell MNPs show promising sorption of 233Np(VI),237Np(V) and 243Am(III). However, the stability of the MNP-che complex in the waste solution and the stability between the bonding of chelator (che) and MNPs are critical in establishing a process that is more efficient than traditional separation technology for practical applications. Thus the interface study between the MNPs and the chelators are very important to understand the detachment of the chelators in order to improve the stability of the MNP-che complex using advanced conjugation methods. We propose a collaborative study with EMSL on the interface phenomena between the conjugated actinide specific chelators and the MNPs for nuclear waste separation applications. Understanding of the interface between the MNPs and chelators in the MNP-che conjugates will not only help to obtain optimized procedures for attaching actinide-specific chelators to MNPs with enhanced stability, but also give insight for the future functionalization of MNPs.

Project Details

Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2010-05-17
End Date
2011-05-22
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

You Qiang
Institution
University of Idaho

Team Members

Huijin Zhang
Institution
University of Idaho

Maninder Kaur Tarsem Singh
Institution
University of Idaho

Hongmei Han
Institution
University of Idaho

Related Publications

Kaur M, H Zhang, and Y Qiang. 2013. "Magnetic Separation Dynamics of Colloidal Magnetic Nanoparticles." IEEE Magnetics Letters 4:4000204. doi:10.1109/LMAG.2013.2271744