abstract

The pollution of surface and groundwater with heavy metals is a serious global concern, both environmentally, as well as with respect to human health. Overabundance of these elements poses severe health risks for humans, and also for other life forms through bioaccumulation along food chains. Therefore, steps should be taken to reduce the amount of such elements in water to acceptable levels. This review looks at metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) which have been recently developed and studied for potential applications in heavy metal removal from water. We provide an overview of the current capabilities and important properties of MOFs used for this purpose.

3. Conclusions

There is much urgency when it comes to the control of heavy metal pollution within our environment. And while some of the pollution stems from natural sources, such as precipitation from rocks into ground and surface waters, much of the heavy metal contamination originates from anthropogenic activities related to industry, urbanization, or farming. Surface and groundwater are the main means of transportation for such pollutants, and as a crucially important resource for human populations, effective removal of contaminants from such sources is of utmost importance. Among many methods available, removal of heavy metals from water using metal–organic frameworks has become an increasingly popular research topic across the world. This review has summarized a number of contemporary research articles across a diverse range of disciplines addressing the issue of heavy metal removal from water using MOFs, and has aimed to look at data available and present it in an accessible and clear manner. The information has been sorted according to the heavy metals targeted, the MOFs used and their effectiveness, and working conditions. The intended purpose of this review is to produce a landscape view of this research area, as well as to provide an easily accessible summary of data available.