Redefining forever: Advancements, challenges, and opportunities in covalent organic frameworks for the remediation of forever chemicals

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals,” are persistent pollutants with serious environmental and health impacts. Conventional water treatment methods often fall short of removing PFAS, prompting interest in advanced adsorbents such as covalent organic frameworks (COFs). This review explores recent advances in the development of COFs tailored for PFAS removal. The discussion focuses on key adsorption mechanisms, including hydrophobic, fluorophilic, electrostatic, and hydrogen-bonding interactions. In addition, optimizing pore size and particle size to improve the adsorption of PFAS is highlighted. The potential of COFs for practical applications is evaluated through their integration into composites, membranes, and adsorption columns, which enable continuous flow treatment. Despite promising results, challenges remain, including scalability, synthesis complexity, and realistic testing at environmentally relevant PFAS concentrations. The outline of future research directions aims to drive the advancement of COF-based solutions that have the potential to revolutionize PFAS remediation in real-world applications.