Metal‐Organic Frameworks for Heavy Metal Removal: Fid-Bau Portal

Metal‐Organic Frameworks for Heavy Metal Removal

Asghar, Anam / Bello, Mustapha Mohammed / Raman, Abdul Aziz Abdul

Heavy metals are among the major sources of environmental pollution, where they pose threat to human health and the environment. Thus, there is increasing effort to develop effective technology for heavy metals removal. Adsorption is considered one of the effective process for heavy metal removal. However, the development of effective adsorbents is still a major challenge. Although metal‐organic frameworks have potentials for heavy metals adsorption due to their excellent properties, their application is still not fully established. Herein, we present the use of metal‐organic frameworks as adsorbents for heavy metals removal. We discussed the problem of heavy metals in the environment and their common removal technologies, highlighting adsorption as an effective technology. We then presented the development of metal‐organic frameworks and their applications in removing specific heavy metals. The effectiveness of metal‐organic frameworks is largely attributed to their ultrahigh porosity (around 90% free volume), specific surface areas (often exceeding 7000 m ² /g) and tunability. Their tunability permits their easy modification to introduce specific functional groups for the target metal ions. Although pristine metal‐organic frameworks have been studied, we noted a growing interest in using metal‐organic framework‐based composites and metal‐organic framework derived advanced materials for heavy metals removal. Materials such as graphene oxide, carbon nanotubes, metal nanoparticles and conducting polymers have been combined with metal‐organic frameworks, forming composites with synergistic adsorption capacity for heavy metals removal. To effectively utilize the potentials of metal‐organic frameworks for heavy metals removal, their synthesis methods and stability in aqueous solutions need to be enhanced.