Uranium Extraction, Separation, and Nuclear Fuel Cycle Chemistry

Uranium Extraction, Separation, and Nuclear Fuel Cycle Chemistry

This community focuses on the chemical separation, recovery, and purification of uranium and other actinides from aqueous environments, primarily to support nuclear fuel production and the management of radioactive waste.

The research centers on developing materials and methods for extracting uranium from seawater and wastewater, as well as separating it from other elements in nuclear fuel cycles. Recurring techniques include adsorption using covalent organic frameworks, metal-organic frameworks, and graphene oxide, alongside solvent extraction and electrochemical methods. The work frequently addresses the challenge of selective capture in complex aqueous solutions, often involving nitric acid or fluoride-containing streams. Key applications include the recovery of uranium from marine sources, the processing of spent nuclear fuel, and the treatment of radioactive waste, with a strong emphasis on efficiency and selectivity in these chemical separations.

The community is most heavily concentrated in uranium research, accounting for 33.6% of all uranium studies and 11,944 papers within this group. It also represents a significant share of plutonium research at 29.5% and neptunium research at 41.3%.

The community comprises 31,345 papers, with the highest publication volume in the Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, followed by Radiochimica Acta and Health Physics.

Recent work continues to focus on advanced material designs for uranium extraction from seawater, including covalent organic frameworks for photocatalytic enhancement and electrochemical extraction methods for nuclear wastewater.

Papers behind this description

• Tuning excited state electronic structure and charge transport in covalent organic frameworks for enhanced photocatalytic performance — Nature Communications, 2023 — doi:10.1038/s41467-023-36710-x
• Enhancement mechanism of chitosan/tannic acid curing and functional group modification on uranium adsorption in five types of wastewater by Cu-MOF — Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2025 — doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.138185
• Uranium extraction from seawater: material design, emerging technologies and marine engineering — Chemical Society Reviews, 2022 — doi:10.1039/d2cs00595f
• Cyano‐Functionalized Graphitic Carbon Nitride with Adsorption and Photoreduction Isosite Achieving Efficient Uranium Extraction from Seawater — Advanced Functional Materials, 2024 — doi:10.1002/adfm.202312215
• Tuning Local Charge Distribution in Multicomponent Covalent Organic Frameworks for Dramatically Enhanced Photocatalytic Uranium Extraction — Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2023 — doi:10.1002/anie.202303129
• Uranium extraction from seawater: methods and challenges — Science China Chemistry, 2025 — doi:10.1007/s11426-025-2784-1
• Functional nanomaterials for selective uranium recovery from seawater: Material design, extraction properties and mechanisms — Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 2023 — doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2023.215097
• Advanced photocatalysts for uranium extraction: Elaborate design and future perspectives — Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 2022 — doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2022.214615
• Adsorption of uranium (VI) by metal-organic frameworks and covalent-organic frameworks from water — Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 2022 — doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2022.214917
• Boosting uranium extraction from Seawater by micro-redox reactors anchored in a seaweed-like adsorbent — Nature Communications, 2024 — doi:10.1038/s41467-024-53366-3
• Uranium adsorption properties and mechanism of ZIF-8/microalgae composite adsorbent with crosslinked chitosan/tannic acid curing supported by quaternary phosphate ionic liquid — Desalination, 2024 — doi:10.1016/j.desal.2024.118079
• Ultra-highly efficient enrichment of uranium from seawater via studtite nanodots growth-elution cycle — Nature Communications, 2024 — doi:10.1038/s41467-024-50951-4
• Construction of nanospace-confined adsorption electrocatalyst for efficient uranium extraction from fluoride-containing wastewater — Science China Chemistry, 2025 — doi:10.1007/s11426-025-3090-x
• Iodine doping covalent organic frameworks to reduce electron-hole recombination for promoting photocatalytic performance — Science Bulletin, 2025 — doi:10.1016/j.scib.2025.12.002
• Boosting Photosynthesis of H 2 O 2 Using Topological Defects in Covalent Organic Framework for Selective Extraction of Uranium through an Innovative Mineralization Strategy — CCS Chemistry, 2025 — doi:10.31635/ccschem.024.202405043
• Metal-organic frameworks with oxygen-rich adsorption sites for efficient capture of uranium and thorium in acidic environments — Separation and Purification Technology, 2026 — doi:10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135160
• Dual conversion pathways for efficient electrochemical extraction of uranium — Nature Communications, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s41467-025-65932-4
• Hierarchical triple-channel architectures unlock scalable and high-efficient uranium extraction from seawater — Nature Communications, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s41467-025-65835-4