Metal organic frameworks as efficient adsorbents for drugs from wastewater

Drug pollution in aqueous environment is posing serious global problem, threating the safety of ecosystems and human health, and hence has attracted wide attention. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of porous inorganic-organic hybrid networks synthesized by multi-dentate organic ligands. Due to their large specific surface area, high adsorption capacity, adjustable porosity, layered structure and recyclable performance, they are considered as important materials for the adsorption and removal of emerging pollutants (ECs) in wastewater and has been widely studied. However, due to their instability and difficulty in recycling in aqueous media, their application as an adsorbent are limited, and hence further investigation and syntheses of materials to overcome this shortcoming remains an arduous task. With these viewpoints, in presented review, the utility of MOFs to adsorption properties and related mechanism to remove drugs viz. antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, antipsychotics, organophosphorus pesticides and other drugs from wastewater are presented. Additionally, rational ideas for constructing water stable MOFs with apt functionalization are discussed that can engender targeted MOFs with improved adsorption efficiency of drugs in wastewater.