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.