Adsorptive removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: From conventional porous materials to metal-organic frameworks and covalent organic frameworks

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a widespread class of anthropogenic environmental contaminants that have garnered increasing global concerns due to their potential long-term impacts on ecosystems and human health. The historical use of aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) containing PFAS has been identified as a major contamination source, leading to widespread pollution of aquatic systems, including surface water and groundwater resources. Adsorption, a conventional water treatment method, provides a cost-effective, operationally simple, and technologically mature approach for PFAS removal. However, conventional adsorbents such as ion-exchange resins, zeolite and activated carbons, often show limited adsorption capacities and/or slow adsorption kinetics. In contrast, emerging porous materials—particularly metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent-organic frameworks (COFs)—have demonstrated significant improvements in efficiency of PFAS removal, offering new insights for advancing technologies for PFAS remediation. This review systematically evaluates current methodologies and recent advancements in PFAS removal from drinking water and wastewater through adsorption by state-of-the-art porous materials. • Critiques the performance and mechanisms of conventional adsorbents (activated carbons, ion-exchange resins, and minerals). • Analyzes the relationships between structural and chemical tunability of framework materials and PFAS capture performance enhancement. • Establishes structure–property relationships governing adsorption and provides design principles for PFAS sequestration. • Discusses integrated treatment strategies , including multifunctional MOFs for PFAS detection, adsorption, and catalytic degradation. • Presents key challenges and future directions to bridge lab-scale advances and large-scale environmental remediation.