Graphene foam
A research team led by Ju Li, the Battelle Energy Alliance Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering and professor of materials science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge, Mass.; www.mit.edu) has devised a highly efficient method for removing uranium from drinking water. Applying an electric charge to graphene oxide foam, the researchers can capture uranium in solution, which precipitates out as a condensed solid crystal. The foam may be reused up to seven times without losing its electrochemical properties. “Within hours, our process can purify a large quantity of drinking water below the EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] limit for uranium,” says Li.
The research is described in a recent article in Advanced Materials. Researchers from Argonne National Laboratory, Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University, and the University of Tokyo also participated in the research.