WM2013 Conference, February 24 – 28, 2013, Phoenix, Arizona USA 1 Prussian Blue Nanoparticles for the Enrichment of Radioactive Cesium in Solutions – 13275 Durga Parajuli, Akiko Kitajima, Hisashi Tanaka, and Tohru Kawamoto Nanosystem Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Higashi, 305-8565, Tsukuba, Japan ABSTRACT Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticles in different form were studied for the adsorptive enrichment of Cs in solutions. Water dispersible nano-PB was found to be highly effective on removing trace level Cs in stagnant waters. The nano-PB loaded filters were effective on collecting Cs in flow systems like river water, thus provides a big relief on controlling the environmental mobility of Cs and its entry to the productive lands via water. Water insoluble nano-PB adsorbent possesses high Cs loading capacity and selectivity and it is found to be the ultimate option for the systems containing high concentration Cs. INTRODUTION Prussian blue (PB), ferric hexacyanoferrate, is an inorganic complex, mostly known in the history for its peculiar Cesium (Cs) selectivity [1]. In reference to the PB parent molecule, a number of transition metal hexacyanoferrate are synthesized and named as PB-analogues. The PB forms an open cage structure, Figure 1, that possesses a typical zeolytic characteristic, an adjective typically given to any molecule capable of trapping other ions within its lattice cavities [2]. However, PB, different from the common zeolytic materials, possesses unique selectivity for the Cs-ion. Due to this structural coincidence, PB has become the ultimate Cs-trapper. (a) (b) M = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, etc. Figure 1. Hexacyanoferrate (a) complexes with transition metal ions to form Prussian Blue, Fe[Fe(CN) 6 ] x , type inorganic complex molecules, the vacancy of the hexacyanoferrate is neglected for simplicity (b), best known for peculiar Cs selectively.