Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) for arsenic remediation: a brief overview of recent progress

Abstract

Arsenic is one of the most common groundwater contaminants causing serious environmental and health problems worldwide. Arsenic remediation using metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) offers a promising approach for arsenic removal owing to their structural tunability, adjustable pore size, and large surface area. This review explores the adsorption mechanisms, versatile functionality, and dimensionality of MOFs, highlighting their potential for arsenic removal. Various synthesis techniques, arsenic adsorption efficiencies, mechanisms, pH dependencies, adsorption isotherms, and adsorption kinetic models are examined in the context of MOFs used for arsenic removal. Functionalized and hybrid MOFs further improve the adsorption performance and selectivity toward arsenic removal via synergetic interactions. The review also discusses the key factors influencing the performance of MOFs, which include pH, competing ions, isotherms, and kinetic models. Despite their advantages, challenges such as hydrolytic stability, scalability, and high cost limit the wide-ranging application of MOFs. However, with advancements in synthesis techniques, structural modifications and integration into practical water treatment systems, MOFs can provide a sustainable and large-scale solution for arsenic removal. This review provides an overview of the recent progress of MOFs in the field of arsenic remediation and suggests some future directions for their further improvement in practical applicability under real-world conditions.