Emerging adsorbents for micro/nanoplastics removal from contaminated water: Advances and perspectives

Micro/nanoplastics (MPs/NPs) are emerging pollutants in the water environment. MPs/NPs' high buoyant and persistent properties and potential toxic effects on living organisms make them priority pollutants in water. To overcome plastic pollution, great efforts have been made to remove MPs/NPs from contaminated water. Recently, adsorption has been proved as an efficient strategy, and emerging adsorbents have shown promising removal performance. In this review, we provide a comprehensive review of recent advancements in adsorbents for the eradication of MPs/NPs from water. Engineered adsorbents (e.g., carbon materials, sponge/aerogel/fiber materials, metal (hydr)oxides, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)) are first summarized, and the adsorbents' structure-performance correlation is emphasized. Afterward, critical experimental factors (e.g., pH value, metal ions, anions, dissolved organic matters (DOM)) are analyzed. At last, challenges and prospects in this field are highlighted to guide the development of novel high-performance adsorbents for MPs/NPs pollution control.