AI-designed material captures 90% of toxic iodine from nuclear waste

A research team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), in collaboration with the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), has developed a novel material capable of capturing over 90% of radioactive iodine, specifically isotope I-129, from nuclear waste. I-129 is a highly persistent and hazardous byproduct of nuclear energy with a half-life of 15.7 million years, making its removal from contaminated water a significant environmental challenge. The new material belongs to the class of Layered Double Hydroxides (LDHs), compounds known for their structural flexibility and ability to adsorb negatively charged particles like iodate (IO₃⁻), the common aqueous form of radioactive iodine. The breakthrough was achieved by employing artificial intelligence to efficiently screen and identify optimal LDH compositions from a vast pool of possible metal combinations. Using machine learning trained on experimental data from 24 binary and 96 ternary LDH compositions, the team pinpointed a quinary compound composed of copper