A metal-templated macrocyclic organic network with elevated hydrophilicity: a three-in-one approach to uranyl capture with ultra-fast kinetics

It is critically important but challenging to achieve rapid adsorption of radionuclides from nuclear leakage and nuclear wastewater. Herein, we report a three-in-one approach with uranyl capture as a proof of concept to demonstrate the realization of extremely fast nuclide adsorption with a macrocyclic organic polymer. Covalent insertion of uranyl-templated carboxyl coordination sites into a pillar[5]arene-based polymer enables the formation of a macrocycle-containing network conducive to mass transfer, the generation of specific nano-traps favourable to uranyl accommodation, and the elevation of the hydrophilicity of the material beneficial to interface contact. As a result, the designed material P5T-COOH exhibits unprecedentedly fast uranyl capture kinetics with an equilibrium time of 15 seconds, outperforming all documented materials.