First-principles calculation study of mechanism of cation adsorption selectivity of zeolites: A guideline for effective removal of radioactive cesium

摘要

Zeolites have attracted attention in the reprocessing of radioactive nuclear waste because of their high selective affinity for radioisotopes of Cs. Very recently, their useful properties have been widely utilized in decontamination after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants. In this study, we study the high selectivity in the Cs adsorption of zeolites using first-principles calculations and clarify the mechanism of the cation selectivity of zeolites. We obtain energy surfaces on all capture locations for Cs/Na ions inside the micropores of a zeolite, "mordenite", and find three crucial conditions for the highly ion-selective exchange of Na for Cs: i) micropores with a radius of ~3 ?, ii) a moderate Al/Si ratio, and iii) a uniform distribution of Al atoms around each micropore. These insights suggest a guideline for developing zeolites with high Cs selectivity and for enhancing the cation selectivity in more general situations.