Ni-Co PBA nanocubes for efficient capture and incorporation of Cs and Tl ions: Mechanism and techno-economic analysis

Journal article, 2025

Toxic Cs+ and Tl+ ions are highly soluble and environmentally mobile; the effective and selective elimination of both elements from waste streams is of great significance. Herein, Ni-Co PBA (NCP) nanocubes were tailored through a facile coprecipitation process and found to have excellent adsorption performance. The pseudo-secondorder kinetic and Langmuir models fit the observed adsorption of Cs+ and Tl+ on NCP nanocubes. The Langmuir model indicated that the maximum capacity of NCP nanocubes to adsorb Cs+ and Tl+ was 201.09 and 39.26 mg/ g, respectively. NCP nanocubes exhibited excellent stability and was efficient for adsorption in a wide pH range (pH = 2-11) and in the presence of high concentrations of interfering cations, and even after strong irradiation. The mechanism of Cs+ and Tl+ adsorption was found to primarily be ion exchange of Cs+ and Tl+ with K+ in the cubic skeleton; on the other hand, surface complexation and electrostatic interactions also occurred during Tl capture. NCP nanocubes holds great potential for Cs+ and Tl+ removal from contaminated media due to its costeffectiveness, high adsorption capacity, irradiation resistance, and selectivity. This work thoroughly examined an economic and efficient materials for Cs and Tl removal, providing theoretical support for the facile fabrication and utilization of low-cost NCP nanocubes as sustainable and emergency materials for Cs or Tl contamination accident. This study also provides a preliminary discussion on the potential impacts on these stakeholders.