Porous poly(amidoxime)-graft-chitosan/graphene oxide hydrogel beads for efficient uranium extraction from seawater

Freestanding materials with effective seawater uranium extraction performance are urgently needed for the nuclear industry. In this work, porous hydrogel beads were fabricated by compositing poly(amidoxime)-graft-chitosan (PAO-CS) and graphene oxide (GO). The PAO-CS/GO beads integrate the advantages of high-affinity amidoxime moiety, stable interconnected porous skeleton and superior hydrophilicity. The optimized structure and properties endowed PAO-CS/GO beads with a high adsorption capacity (467.07 mg g⁻¹), good ion selectivity and recoverability, with 97% extraction efficiency in simulated seawater of different concentrations (8, 16, and 32 ppm). This study emphasizes designing materials with deployment advantages for uranium extraction from seawater.