journal article·2026-07-16Open access

ABCABC Stacking‐Enabled Non‐Centrosymmetry 3R‐ZnIn 2 S 4 Nanosheets for Piezocatalytic Uranium Extraction

Song Li, Huaijuan Zhou, Yingting Yang, Yanhong Lv, Zdeněk Sofer, Jianyun Zheng, Jinhua Li

Abstract

ABSTRACT Piezoelectric materials for uranium extraction have attracted increasing attention, as they offer a self‐powered, light‐independent strategy to harness ambient mechanical energy. However, natural mechanical energies are typically weak and low‐frequency, necessitating materials with high flexibility, facile deformation, and large surface area. Herein, we demonstrate that the ABCABC stacking sequence along the c ‐axis in two‐dimensional (2D) 3R‐ zinc indium sulfide (3R‐ZnIn 2 S 4 ) nanosheets induces intrinsic non‐centrosymmetry, enabling robust piezocatalysis for on‐site hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) generation and simultaneous uranium extraction. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm that solvation effects enhance the lattice flexibility and intrinsic dipole moment of 3R‐ ZnIn 2 S 4 , resulting in the formation of an electron‐rich surface that thermodynamically favors the two‐electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e− ORR) for H 2 O 2 generation. Under mild ultrasonic agitation (35 kHz, 50 W), the 3R‐ZnIn 2 S 4 nanosheets achieved a H 2 O 2 yield of 276.7 µmol g −1 h −1 and a uranium extraction capacity of 763.2 mg g −1 . Mechanistic investigations elucidate that the uranium extraction process proceeds through a dual‐coordination pathway, integrating direct piezoelectric reduction and in situ H 2 O 2 ‐mediated complexation of uranium species. Notably, 3R‐ZnIn 2 S 4 demonstrates excellent cycling stability over five cycles, high selectivity toward uranium, and effective anti‐biofouling performance under ultrasonic conditions (35 kHz, 50 W). Collectively, our findings establish stacking‐induced piezoelectricity as a light‐independent strategy for sustainable uranium extraction to support nuclear energy development.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Radioactive element chemistry and processing · Nuclear Materials and Properties · Covalent Organic Framework Applications

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

School of Materials Science and Engineering School of Interdisciplinary Science Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China

Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Molecular Materials and High‐throughput Manufacturing School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China

School of Physics and Chemistry Hunan First Normal University Changsha China

Department of Inorganic Chemistry University of Chemistry and Technology Prague Prague Czech Republic

State Key Laboratory of Chem/Bio‐Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Hunan University Changsha China

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program of China · Beijing Institute of Technology Research Fund Program for Young Scholars

References (47)

Show source-provided references
1. “World Nuclear Outlook Report ”World Nuclear Association(2026) https://world‐nuclear.org/images/articles/World‐Nuclear‐Outlook‐Report_dfed5656.pdf.
2. “World Nuclear Performance Report 2025 ”World Nuclear Association(2025) https://world‐nuclear.org/images/articles/World_Nuclear_Performance_Report_2025_ec7e189b.pdf.
3. 10.1038/2031110a010.1038/2031110a0 ↗
4. 10.1002/anie.20200789510.1002/anie.202007895 ↗
5. 10.1038/s41467‐024‐48564‐y10.1038/s41467‐024‐48564‐y ↗
6. 10.1038/s44221‐025‐00471‐210.1038/s44221‐025‐00471‐2 ↗
7. 10.1038/s41467‐026‐69178‐610.1038/s41467‐026‐69178‐6 ↗
8. 10.1021/es900528810.1021/es9005288 ↗
9. 10.1038/s44221‐023‐00134‐010.1038/s44221‐023‐00134‐0 ↗
10. 10.1021/acsnano.5c1034610.1021/acsnano.5c10346 ↗
11. 10.1126/science.116824510.1126/science.1168245 ↗
12. 10.1002/adfm.20200515810.1002/adfm.202005158 ↗
13. 10.1038/s41893‐026‐01781‐310.1038/s41893‐026‐01781‐3 ↗
14. 10.1002/smll.20230794610.1002/smll.202307946 ↗
15. 10.1016/j.apcatb.2026.12660310.1016/j.apcatb.2026.126603 ↗
16. 10.1016/j.apcatb.2022.12134310.1016/j.apcatb.2022.121343 ↗
17. 10.1038/s41467‐025‐56471‐z10.1038/s41467‐025‐56471‐z ↗
18. 10.1016/j.matt.2025.10237510.1016/j.matt.2025.102375 ↗
19. 10.1002/smll.20230358610.1002/smll.202303586 ↗
20. 10.1093/nsr/nwac02610.1093/nsr/nwac026 ↗
21. 10.1021/jacs.7b0229010.1021/jacs.7b02290 ↗
22. 10.1063/5.025167910.1063/5.0251679 ↗
23. 10.1002/adma.20241041710.1002/adma.202410417 ↗
24. 10.1002/adom.20250048910.1002/adom.202500489 ↗
25. 10.1002/smll.7359610.1002/smll.73596 ↗
26. 10.1016/j.ccr.2026.21772410.1016/j.ccr.2026.217724 ↗
27. 10.1016/j.ccr.2026.21784410.1016/j.ccr.2026.217844 ↗
28. 10.1016/j.nanoen.2026.11185210.1016/j.nanoen.2026.111852 ↗
29. 10.1002/anie.20250750210.1002/anie.202507502 ↗
30. 10.1002/adma.20240322810.1002/adma.202403228 ↗
31. 10.1002/adfm.20252876310.1002/adfm.202528763 ↗
32. 10.1021/acscatal.4c0691110.1021/acscatal.4c06911 ↗
33. 10.1016/j.cej.2026.17394610.1016/j.cej.2026.173946 ↗
34. 10.1002/adfm.20241225810.1002/adfm.202412258 ↗
35. 10.1088/0268‐1242/10/5/01310.1088/0268‐1242/10/5/013 ↗
36. 10.1016/S1872‐2067(25)64865‐010.1016/S1872‐2067(25)64865‐0 ↗
37. 10.1021/acscatal.5c0548110.1021/acscatal.5c05481 ↗
38. 10.1038/s41524‐025‐01746‐810.1038/s41524‐025‐01746‐8 ↗
39. 10.1016/j.apsusc.2026.16653910.1016/j.apsusc.2026.166539 ↗
40. 10.1002/smll.20250906210.1002/smll.202509062 ↗
41. 10.1002/aenm.20230104710.1002/aenm.202301047 ↗
42. 10.1002/smll.20210456110.1002/smll.202104561 ↗
43. 10.1002/anie.20230962410.1002/anie.202309624 ↗
44. 10.1021/acsnano.5c0145310.1021/acsnano.5c01453 ↗
45. 10.1002/adfm.20211063510.1002/adfm.202110635 ↗
46. 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.10482510.1016/j.nanoen.2020.104825 ↗
47. 10.1016/j.joule.2025.10193010.1016/j.joule.2025.101930 ↗