Pharmaceutical removal from aquatic environments using multifunctional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) materials for adsorption and degradation processes: a review

Abstract

Pharmaceutical residues in water pose a significant environmental and public health challenge, mainly originating from urbanization, hospital effluents, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Effective remediation is crucial before their discharge into aquatic systems. Traditional wastewater treatment often fails to remove these contaminants effectively. Adsorption is efficient but merely transfers pollutants between phases, requiring further treatment. While advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) enable degradation, they typically exhibit low mineralization efficiency and limited effectiveness at low pollutant concentrations. Combining adsorption with degradation addresses key challenges by enabling the degradation of adsorbed pollutants into harmless byproducts while regenerating the catalyst for reuse. Developing dual-function catalysts is crucial for commercial applications. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising due to their high surface area, porosity, stability, and abundant functional groups. While most studies focus on MOFs for single catalytic applications, their dual role as adsorbents and AOP activators remains underexplored. This review highlights advancements in MOF synthesis, modification, and application for pharmaceutical removal from water. MOFs with high adsorption capacity and catalytic activity in AOPs have demonstrated significant potential for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment, offering dual benefits in water purification. This review covers recent research progress, sustainable MOF design strategies, limitations, mechanisms, and future directions, with a focus on the potential for large-scale applications in pharmaceutical wastewater treatment. This review is a valuable resource for researchers studying MOF-based adsorption and catalytic degradation for pharmaceutical wastewater remediation.