Advanced porous nanomaterials as superior adsorbents for environmental pollutants removal from aqueous solutions

Abstract Advanced porous nanomaterials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) with high specific surface areas, abundant functional groups, accessible pore structures, tunable pore sizes, and easy modification are attractive as adsorbents for the capture of toxic heavy metal ions, organic pollutants, and radionuclides from aqueous solutions. This review first comprehensively introduces the attractive properties of MOFs, COFs, and PAFs to highlight their advantages as adsorbents. Subsequently, the recent progress of MOFs, COFs, and PAFs as superior adsorbents for the efficient removal of environmental pollutants is summarized. Furthermore, the influences of environmental conditions and information about the interaction mechanisms between pollutants and advanced porous nanomaterials are discussed. Finally, the applications and promising prospects of advanced porous nanomaterials in environmental pollution management are summarized. This review is beneficial to designing and fabricating advanced porous materials, which also provides some meaningful guidance for studying the adsorption mechanisms between porous materials and environmental pollutants. Graphical abstract