Metal–Organic Frameworks: Next-Generation Materials for Environmental Remediation

Water pollution, primarily caused by heavy metals and organic pollutants, poses a significant threat to environmental and public health. Traditional water treatment technologies, while effective, often face limitations such as high costs and secondary pollution. This review explores the advancements in the application of modified biochar for the removal of heavy metals and organic pollutants from contaminated water. We begin by discussing the various preparation methods of biochar, emphasizing the modifications that enhance its adsorption capabilities. The use of biochar in adsorptive removal of heavy metals is examined, highlighting the mechanisms and efficiencies involved. Additionally, the role of biochar-based adsorbents in the removal of organic pollutants is analyzed, focusing on adsorption processes and the incorporation of photocatalytic properties. The review also delves into biochar-based catalysts in sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), showcasing their potential in degrading complex organic pollutants. Furthermore, the application of biochar-based adsorbents in binary pollutant systems is reviewed, providing insights into their multifunctional capabilities. The paper concludes with future perspectives, suggesting pathways for further research and development to enhance the effectiveness and applicability of biochar in water treatment technologies. The findings underscore the promise of modified biochar as a versatile and sustainable solution for mitigating water pollution

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained significant attention as advanced materials for environmental remediation due to their high surface area, tunable porosity, and versatile chemical functionality. These hybrid crystalline materials, composed of metal ions or clusters coordinated with organic linkers, offer unprecedented opportunities for the selective adsorption, separation, and catalytic degradation of diverse environmental pollutants. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of recent progress in the development and application of MOFs for water and air purification. It begins with an exploration of fundamental MOF properties, including structural features, functionalization strategies, and affinity mechanisms relevant to contaminant removal. Various synthesis approaches are compared, with emphasis on emerging green fabrication techniques aimed at reducing environmental impact and enhancing scalability. The article highlights MOF applications in aqueous environments for the removal of heavy metals, dyes, antibiotics, and persistent organic pollutants, as well as gas-phase applications such as CO₂ capture, VOC adsorption, and photocatalytic air purification. The role of composite materials, such as MOF–polymer and MOF–carbon hybrids, is examined in enhancing stability and functionality. Key operational factors including pH, ionic strength, regeneration potential, and structural robustness are analyzed to assess real-world feasibility. Current challenges such as hydrolytic degradation, potential secondary pollution, economic viability, and lack of field-scale demonstrations are critically discussed. Finally, the review outlines future prospects for MOFs in environmental engineering, including the use of computational modeling, machine learning, smart MOF systems, lifecycle assessment (LCA), and integration into scalable treatment platforms. By consolidating recent advancements and identifying future research directions, this article serves as a valuable resource for scientists, engineers, and policymakers striving to develop sustainable and high-performance remediation technologies.

Water-stable MOFs-based core-shell nanostructures for advanced oxidation towards environmental remediation

The applications of metal–organic frameworks (MOF)-based materials like pristine MOFs, MOF composites and MOF derivatives in water treatment have attracted increasing attention due to their unique structures and corresponding properties. This review highlights the research progress of MOF-based material applications in water treatment including but not limited to fluorescent sensing detection and adsorptive removal of organic pollutants and heavy metals, organic pollutant degradation with the aid of advanced oxidation process reactions like photocatalysis, photo-Fenton and sulfate radical advanced oxidation process, as well as photocatalytic Cr(vi) reduction. Also, the research trends of MOF-based material applications in water treatment are presented.

The degradation of organic pollutants present in domestic and industrial effluents is a matter of concern because of their high persistence and ecotoxicity. Recently, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are being emphasized for organic pollutant removal from effluents, as they have shown higher degradation efficiencies when compared to conventional activated sludge processes. Sulfate radical-based methods are some of the AOPs, mainly carried out using persulfate (PS) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS), which have gained attention due to the ease of sulfate radical generation and the effective degradation of organic molecules. PMS is gaining more popularity because of its high reactivity and ability to generate excess sulfate radicals. PMS has been the major focus; therefore, its mechanism has been explained, and limitations have been elaborated. The involvement of metal-organic frameworks for PMS/PS activation applied to organic pollutant removal and recent advances in the application of biochar and hydrogel-assisted metal-organic frameworks have been discussed.

Background: The removal of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from the contaminated water by employing photocatalytic adsorption is considered as one of the most emerging technologies due to its’ cost- and energy-effectiveness. It has attracted significant attention of global researchers to process the world’s wastewater. Methods: Among different adsorbents, the metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have demonstrated remarkable potential and a bright future perspective in the photocatalytic-based adsorptive removal of POPs from wastewater. This review deals with the introduction of MOFs and contaminations in wastewater, followed by the synthesis method for MOFs and their properties. The review is extended to the review of mechanisms for the photocatalytic adsorption along with the recent progress in removal of persistent toxic substances, pesticides, herbicides, phenols, and antibiotics. Furthermore, the future challenges in this promising area are also discussed. Results: Much research work has been done in the area of photocatalytic adsorptive removal of the POPs using the MOFs due to their significant structural and texture properties. Substantial research efforts have been carried out to functionalize the MOFs in order to improve their adsorption potential. Overall, this review demonstrated that the MOFs could be applied successfully for the photocatalytic adsorptive removal of the POPs from contaminated water. Conclusion: Despite the bright future perspective of the MOFs, there are some issues that need to be accounted for: The development of MOFs with redox-active metals and/or organic functionalized ligands, MOFs application for the photocatalytic adsorptive removal of the gaseous contaminants, indepth understanding of the mechanism of the photocatalytic adsorptive removal of the POPs, and the application of the MOFs for photocatalytic adsorptive removal of the POPs in real environmental conditions. The fast development of the MOFs in the recent era indicates a bright future perspective in spite of the challenges in this area.

Adsorptive and photocatalytic removal of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in water by metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)

ARB inactivation, ARGs and antibiotics degradation in hospital wastewater.

Plastic, pharmaceutical, and heavy metal pollution continues to escalate, creating an urgent need for efficient detection and removal of hazardous pollutants. Consequently, emerging technologies are critically required to advance environmental monitoring and remediation. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as porous, flexible, and multifunctional materials with unique structural characteristics, offer viable solutions to these challenges, with MIL-88(Fe) serving as the central focus of this study. In this paper, we review the synthesis and applications of MIL-88(Fe): we summarize and compare its solvothermal, microwave-assisted, electrochemical, ultrasonic, and mechanochemical synthesis methods, and systematically review the removal and detection of organic pollutants, pharmaceuticals, and heavy metals by MIL-88(Fe) and its composites under varying conditions. MIL-88(Fe) exhibits notable advantages: it possesses a stable and tunable structure, enabling adaptation to complex environments; it demonstrates high adsorption capacity and detection sensitivity; it achieves high efficiency through mechanisms including coordination, electrostatic adsorption, and π-π stacking; and it is reusable, thereby reducing application costs. In conclusion, MIL-88(Fe) is a multifunctional material for environmental remediation, and its potential has been validated. Future research should focus on optimizing its performance, scaling up synthesis, integrating it with other materials and technologies, and enhancing environmental protection and pollution control.

Chapter 15 - Health Technology, Quality, Law, and Ethics

NATURE-BASED SOLUTION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTION: MITIGATING ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN HOSPITAL EFFLUENT

7 - Metal-organic frameworks for capture and degradation of organic pollutants

Tetracyclines (TCs) have been extensively used for humans and animal diseases treatment and livestock growth promotion. The consumption of such antibiotics has been ever-growing nowadays due to various bacterial infections and other pathologic conditions, resulting in more discharge into the aquatic environments. This brings threats to ecosystems and human bodies. Up to now, several attempts have been made to reduce TC amounts in the wastewater, among which photocatalysis, an advanced oxidation process, is known as an eco-friendly and efficient technology. In this regard, metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have been known as the promising materials as photocatalysts. Thus, studying TC photocatalytic degradation by MOFs would help scientists and engineers optimize the process in terms of effective parameters. Nevertheless, the costly and time-consuming experimental methods, having instrumental errors, encouraged the authors to use the computational method for a more comprehensive assessment. In doing so, a wide-ranging databank including 374 experimental data points was gathered from the literature. A powerful machine learning method of Gaussian process regression (GPR) model with four kernel functions was proposed to estimate the TC degradation in terms of MOFs features (surface area and pore volume) and operational parameters (illumination time, catalyst dosage, TC concentration, pH). The GPR models performed quite well, among which GPR-Matern model shows the most accurate performance with R2, MRE, MSE, RMSE, and STD of 0.981, 12.29, 18.03, 4.25, and 3.33, respectively. In addition, an analysis of sensitivity was carried out to assess the effect of the inputs on the TC photodegradation by MOFs. It revealed that the illumination time and the surface area play a significant role in the decomposition activity.

Removal of heavy metals and organic pollutants from water using dendritic polymers based adsorbents: A critical review

The management of hazardous pollutants remains a critical environmental and public health challenge, necessitating innovative materials capable of efficient capture, neutralization, and potential reutilization. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), with their tunable porosity, chemical versatility, and functional modularity, have emerged as promising platforms for addressing these demands. This review discusses recent advancements in MOF‐based strategies for managing a range of priority pollutants, including chemical warfare agents (CWAs), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen oxides (NO x ), ammonia (NH 3 ), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). For each pollutant class, we start with the discussion of emission sources, environmental impacts, and key challenges associated with their mitigation. In‐depth insights are subsequently provided into MOF‐based strategies for pollutant capture under practical conditions, neutralization (detoxification) to harmless substances, and reutilization through conversion into value‐added products, offering a pathway toward sustainable development goals. By bridging pollutant capture, neutralization, and reutilization, this review establishes a comprehensive framework for advancing MOF‐based materials toward sustainable pollutant management.