Final Report for Environmental Management Science Program - Strategic Design and Optimization of Inorganic Sorbents for Cesium, Strontium and Actinides: Activities at the University of Notre Dame

The basic science goal in this project identifies structure/affinity relationships for selected radionuclides and existing sorbents. The task will apply this knowledge to the design and synthesis of new sorbents that will exhibit increased cesium, strontium and actinide removal. The target problem focuses on the treatment of high-level nuclear wastes. The general approach can likewise be applied to non-radioactive separations. The project involves a collaboration among four organizations, with each focused on a different aspect of the problem. This document is the final report on the three years of activities conducted at the University of Notre Dame, where the research focus was on the use of molecular modeling to understand ion exchange selectivity in titanosilicates and polyoxoniobate materials