PNNL

Abstract

The successful mass-implementation of nuclear energy requires reprocessing of used nuclear fuel (UNF) to mitigate harmful radioactive waste. Volatile radionuclides such as Xe and Kr evolve into off-gas streams of UNF reprocessing facilities in parts per million concentrations; their capture and successive safe handing is essential from a regulatory point of view. As radioactive Xe has a short half-life, this captured Xe could be sold in the chemical market. Energy-intensive, expensive, and hazardous cryogenic distillation is the current benchmark process to capture and separate radioactive Xe and Kr from air. Thus, a cost-effective, alternative technology for the separation of Xe and Kr and their capture from air is of significant importance. Thus far, nanoporous materials, such as aluminosilicate zeolites, metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and porous organic molecules have shown promise for an adsorption-based separation process at room temperature. Herein, we report the selective Xe uptake in a crystalline porous organic oligomeric molecule, noria, and its structural analogue, PgC-noria, under ambient conditions. The selectivity of noria towards Xe arises from its tailored pore size and small cavities, which allows a directed non-bonding interaction of Xe atoms with a large number of carbon atoms of the noria molecular wheel in a confined space.