Radiation Unlocks Selective and Efficient Gold Recovery

Gold is a precious metal for many applications, but their scarcity poses a risk of supply disruption. Recovering gold from e-waste provides a promising method, however, traditional metallurgical extraction methods, such as aqua regia leaching and cyanide leaching, suffer from low selectivity, high toxicity, high energy consumption and environmental pollution. Herein, we demonstrate a radiation-mediated selective recovery (RSR) of gold from e-waste and ores. Utilizing the oxidative radiolytic species, complete dissolution of gold was observed for gold powder and gold foil. For CPU boards, 92.0% gold dissolution was attained, whereas the percentages for non-precious metals were low (Cu: 0.01%; Fe: 0.02%; Ni: 0.38%; Zn: 1.94%; Sn: 0.01%). 100% gold dissolution for ores demonstrated its wide applicability. Under industrial electron-beam radiation, RSR can be finished in 2 minutes. The strong penetration capability of radiation enables its application in large-scale, selective recovery of gold from real-world samples, offering significant value for the circular economy and environmental sustainability.