RESEARCH ARTICLE

Photothermal activation by hollow multishelled structure for efficient uranium extraction

¹ State Key Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Preparation and Delivery, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
³ Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
⁴ College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China

^* Corresponding authors (emails: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Nailiang Yang); This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Dan Wang))

Received: 28 December 2025
Revised: 26 February 2026
Accepted: 16 March 2026

Abstract

Uranium extraction from seawater is essential for sustainable nuclear energy but remains kinetically limited by ultralow concentration and slow ion diffusion. Inspired by the Stokes-Einstein equation, we can predict that the rise in local temperature would increase the diffusion coefficient for uranyl ions. Here we report a generalizable photothermal strategy by depositing amorphous Ta₂O₅/C-HoMS (hollow multishelled structure) onto amidoxime-functionalized polyethylene fibers. The unique multi-shelled and compartmentalized architecture of HoMS facilitates both efficient solar-to-thermal conversion and enhanced mass transport. Under solar irradiation, the composite generates localized heating, which accelerates uranyl diffusion and raises the adsorption capacity by 27% compared to dark conditions, while maintaining over 91% capacity after seven consecutive adsorption-desorption cycles. Systematic light-versus-dark comparisons demonstrate that the photothermal effect is the key driver for enhanced kinetics for uranium uptake. This work provides a simple, universal and efficient platform for solar-driven uranium recovery, paving a practical route toward sustainable nuclear fuel supply from the ocean.