Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-019-06630-6 Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)/manganese dioxide composite for the removal of low level radionuclide ions from aqueous solution Abdul G. Al Laf 1  · Jamal Al Abdullah 2  · Yusr Amin 2  · Tasneem Alnama 2  · Yara Aljbai 2  · Reem Hasan 1  · Ghina Alsayes 1 Received: 12 March 2019 © Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2019 Abstract Various composite adsorbents based on sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)/manganese dioxide were prepared for the removal of stable and radioactive ions from contaminated aqueous solution. Batch adsorption experiments revealed superior adsorp- tion capacities of the composite using very low initial concentration of studied elements. Starting with 1000 µg L −1 contami- nated solution, the maximum equilibrium metal uptake capacity reached 2.0 mg g −1 for Pb 2+ , 1.9 mg g −1 for Cd 2+ , Cu 2+ and Zn 2+ , and 3.7 mg g −1 for Co 2+ . In addition, the distribution coefcient reached 11,600 mL g −1 for 137 Cs and 70,000 mL g −1 for 210 Pb. Keywords Composite · Sulfonation · Nano manganese dioxide · Sorption · Radionuclide · Wastewater Introduction The contamination of water with radionuclides is one of the most important and the most serious problems, which faces the human being as a fundamental threat to survival. In addition to many of the industries that contribute to water pollution with trace elements (such as lead, cadmium, cop- per, chromium, etc.), the operation of nuclear power plants and reactors, research and production of radioisotopes for industrial or medical purposes also contribute to the produc- tion of large amounts of varying compositions and risk of radioactive waste [1–4]. Adsorption, among the various available decontamination processes, is one of the preferred techniques for the treat- ment of industrial efuents due to its simplicity, efciency and cost efectiveness [5–9]. The characteristic and perfor- mance of the adsorbent is the key of a successful adsorption process. Therefore, the development of adsorbent, over the past years not only focused on their chemical structure but also on the techniques used to evaluate their efectiveness. Diferent organic, non-organic and composite materials have been developed for decontamination of wastewater and low radioactive liquid wastes. These include ion exchange resins, e.g. resorcinol–formaldehyde [10], thermally acti- vated dolomite [11], nano-manganese dioxide [12] and its composites [7, 8], titanosilicate zeolites, e.g. crystalline silicotitanate [13]. In addition, new advanced materials such as metal organic frameworks (MOFs), e.g. MIL-SO 3 H [14] (MIL, Matérial Institut Lavoisier), porous coordination polymers (PCPs) [15], and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) [16] have been all tested and successfully utilized as adsorbents. Generally, organic adsorbents are widely available at low cost and mechanically strong, but they have lower exchange capacity, and lower radiation and thermal stabilities com- pared with non-organic adsorbents. In addition, many organic adsorbents are non-selective and are unstable out- side a moderately neutral pH range, but they can be treated or stabilized with other additives to improve their uniform- ity, stability, or sorption selectivity. On the other hand, the adsorbent ions can be separated from organic adsorbents, and thus they can be re-used many times before they are being disposed of. The global increase in using nano manganese dioxide (NMO) in the decontamination of trace and radioactive ele- ments from wastewater has resulted in developing diferent structures with high afnity for trace element ions [17, 18]. However, limitations relating to the difculty in solid–liquid * Abdul G. Al Laf cscientifc@aec.org.sy 1 Department of Chemistry, Atomic Energy Commission, P. O. Box: 9061, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic 2 Department of Protection and Safety, Atomic Energy Commission, P. O. Box: 9061, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic