Encapsulating Powdery Adsorbents Into Recycled Plastics Matrix for Efficient Radioactive Iodine Capture

Abstract Efficient capture of the gaseous radioiodine is significantly pivotal for the sustainable development of nuclear energy and the long‐term radiation safety of the ecological system. Recently, various adsorbents with delicate nanostructures have been designed and investigated for capturing the volatile radioactive iodine, however, these powdery adsorbents, for instance, silver/copper/bismuth/tin based nanomaterials, metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent‐organic frameworks (COFs), ect are facing significant processing issuesand difficulties in handling and transportation. Inspired by the success of the neutron shielding materials of lead (Pb) containing PE (polyethylene) (Pb‐PE), herein, the encapsulation of a series of efficient powdery adsorbents is conducted into the skeleton of the recycled PS (polystyrene) foam. The results show that these powdery materials are well compatible with the porous skeleton of the prepared PS foam, consequently resulting in their uniform dispersion throughout the whole matrix. Benefitted from the highly active and uniform dispersion of these powdery materials, the composite foams deliver decent adsorption capacities within a shorter adsorption process compared with the relevant powdery materials in the static I ₂ vapor capture experiment. Mechanistic studies reveal that the radioactively and chemically stable PS foam primarily acts as an inactive scaffold to disperse the active components and facilitate I ₂ vapor diffusion, whereas the embedded powdery materials dominate the adsorption process. Additionally, a semi‐automated preparation platform is set to achieve the scalable fabrication of efficient composite foams to demonstrate the commercial prospects of the strategy. Moreover, an adsorption efficiency of ~99.95 ± 0.03% is realized for the radioactive I ₂ vapor under the N ₂ flow rate of 0.1 L min ⁻¹ in the dynamic adsorption process at 70 °C using the prepared SnS‐400/foam. This work presents a facile and efficient strategy for fabricating high‐performance adsorbents for radioactive iodine vapor using recycled polystyrene (PS) plastics. This approach not only addresses the critical need for effective iodine capture but also opens promising avenues for the sustainable repurposing of plastic wastes.