A novel
fibrous sorbent, amidoxime-grafted activated carbon fibers
(ACFs-AO), was prepared using a chemical grafting method and tested
for the efficient removal of uranium from aqueous solution. The sorbent
was characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field-emission
scanning electron microscopy, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric
analysis, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller. The effects of
pH, contact time, initial concentration, and temperature on the sorption
of U(VI) were investigated. The sorption of U(VI) on ACFs-AO obeyed
the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir isotherm. The sorption
capacity of ACFs-AO for U(VI) (about 191.6 mg/g) was much higher than
that of activated carbon fibers (ACFs) (about 70.52 mg/g), which was
mainly attributed to surface complexation between U(VI) and the amidoxime
group on ACFs-AO. Additionally, the thermodynamic parameter results
showed that the sorption process of U(VI) was spontaneous, feasible,
and endothermic. Moreover, ACFs-AO adsorbed U(VI) selectively in an
aqueous solution containing competitive ions, and was regenerated
and reused efficiently. The findings of this work indicate that ACFs-AO
could be a promising sorbent for the effective removal of U(VI) from
aqueous solution.