@article{Chang2026, 
author = {Ziwen Chang and Yingying Zhou and Penghui Shao and Liming Yang and Bo Li and Dewei Li and Lingrong Zeng and Yi Gong and Xubiao Luo and Shenglian Luo},
title = {Proton-Driven Multistage System Enables Selective Recovery of Gold and Palladium from Electronic Waste Leachate},
year = {2026},
journal = {Energy & Environmental Materials},
volume = {9},
number = {1},
keywords = {adsorbent regeneration, gradient separation, precious metals recovery, selective adsorption},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1002/eem2.70085},
doi = {10.1002/eem2.70085},
abstract = {Selective extraction of precious metals from urban mines plays a crucial role in mitigating the risk of depletion of precious metal resources and reducing waste pollution. However, a major obstacle in precious metal extraction lies in the difficulty of distinguishing the subtle differences in the physicochemical characteristics between them, especially gold and palladium. Herein, a proton-driven separation system was presented for cascade recovery of gold and palladium from waste-printed circuit boards (W-PCBs) leachate using poly(amidoxime) (PAO) hydrogel. This exhibits an ultra-high capacity, extra-fast rate, and excellent selectivity for the extraction of Au(Ⅲ) and Pd(Ⅱ). Notably, the separation of Au(Ⅲ) and Pd(Ⅱ) can be achieved with high selectivity at pH = 0, resulting in a remarkable separation factor of kAu(Ⅲ)/Pd(Ⅱ) = 36.5. This was demonstrated to originate from the differential mechanism of PAO hydrogel for the capture of Au(Ⅲ) and Pd(Ⅱ) under proton-mediated conditions. Drawing inspiration from the mechanism, the proton-driven cascade recovery system demonstrates remarkable efficiency in sequentially recovering 99.92% of gold and 99.05% of palladium from W-PCBs acid leachate. This research opens up a strategy to precisely separate and recover precious metals from e-waste of urban mines.}
}