Citation: Pengyu Chen, Xiaoli Wang, Zhaorui Zhang, Minghui Yang. Electroactive nitrogen–engineered MoN nanospheres for electrochemical uranium recovery from seawater[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(11): 111848. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111848 shu

Electroactive nitrogen–engineered MoN nanospheres for electrochemical uranium recovery from seawater

School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

myang@dlut.edu.cn

Received Date: 11 August 2025
Revised Date: 8 September 2025
Accepted Date: 17 September 2025
Available Online: 17 September 2025

Figures(4)

The vast reserves of uranium in seawater offer a sustainable feedstock for nuclear energy, yet their exploitation is hindered by ultralow concentrations and a complex ionic milieu. We report a structurally engineered molybdenum nitride–carbon cloth (E-MoN/CC) electrode that combines high surface area (95.8 m²/g) with tailored electronic structure for highly efficient electrochemical uranium recovery. Nitrogen incorporation into MoN creates catalytically active sites that accelerate the reduction of uranyl species, while etching-induced hierarchical porosity enhances electron transport and facilitates ion diffusion. In uranium-spiked artificial seawater (10 ppm), E-MoN/CC delivers a capacity of 586 mg/g at −0.9 V vs. RHE, exceeding MoO₃/CC by 1.2-fold, and achieves 99% removal within 1 h. The electrode sustains a record the maximum extraction capacity of 11,990 mg/g in uranium-spiked seawater, while maintaining negligible performance loss over seven cycles. This work establishes metal nitride architectures as robust, scalable platforms for green electrochemical uranium extraction from complex marine environments.
- Electrochemical uranium extraction,
- Molybdenum nitride catalysts,
- Seawater uranium recovery,
- Porous electrode design,
- Uranyl ion reduction
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