Preparation of novel zirconium phosphonates for adsorption of lutetium

Separation and recovery of 177Lu from radioactive medicine waste is concerned due to its potential application in radiopharmaceuticals. In this paper, two zirconium phosphonate materials (Zr-AMTP-1 and Zr-AMTP-2) were prepared by water-bath and hydrothermal method, respectively, for separating Lu from acidic systems. Both of them exhibited similar sheet-morphology and the typical layered structure like α-ZrP, but Zr-AMTP-2 possessed a wider layered distance due to the existence of [(CH3)2NH2]+ in its inter-layers. Remarkably, both two materials exhibited much stronger ability for removal of Lu3+ in comparison with α-ZrP, especially in complicated acidic conditions. Notably, Zr-AMTP-2 possess a much higher adsorption capacity for Lu3+ (113.91 mg g−1) [almost twice that of Zr-AMTP-1 (60.53 mg g−1)], and quick adsorption rates, which are attributed to its wider layer distance and abundant [(CH3)2NH2]+exchange sites. In addition, both two materials have a high selectivity for Lu3+ in the mixture solution with the co-existing ions (K+, Na+ and NO3−). This work posed a new way to develop new adsorbents that could be application in radioactive medicine waste disposal.