Scientists Introduce Venus Flytrap For Nuclear Waste

Northwestern University researchers have developed a new material that could help with the remediation of nuclear waste that behaves much like a Venus Flytrap, permanently trapping only its desired 'prey,' the radioactive ion cesium, and not other harmless ions like sodium. The results were published online this week in Nature Chemistry. The synthetic material, made from layers of a gallium, sulfur and antimony compound, is very selective. The researchers found it to be extremely successful in removing cesium -- found in nuclear waste but very difficult to clean up -- from a sodium-heavy solution. (The solution had concentrations similar to those in real liquid nuclear waste.) read more

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