Photocatalytic Extraction of U(VI) from Seawater: Challenges and Perspectives

Uranium extraction from ocean is crucial for the utilization of nuclear energy, especially for the sustainable development of nuclear power plants. The extra low concentration of U(VI) ions in the presence of other organic/inorganic coexisted chemicals and marine microorganism in ocean restricts the separation of U(VI) efficiently. The highly selective sorption of U(VI) and further photocatalytic chemical transformation of adsorbed U(VI) ions to U‐containing precipitates (UO 2 , UO 2 )(O 2 )·nH 2 O or other compounds) could continuously extract U(VI) from natural seawater. In the sorption‐photocatalytic strategy of U(VI) preconcentration from ocean, the fast sorption of U(VI) with high selectivity, efficient sunlight absorption, photocatalytic generation separation of e − –h + pairs, and excellent antibacterial properties are the most important challenges for high U(VI) photocatalytic separation from seawater. In this minor review, the main methods for each challenge are described from the authors’ viewpoint, which may be helpful to synthesize photocatalytic materials and to optimize technical proposal in U(VI) extraction from ocean.