Recent Advances in Covalent Organic Frameworks for Heavy Metal Removal Applications

Maria-Anna Gatou, Panagiota Bika, Thomas Stergiopoulos, Panagiotis Dallas and Evangelia A. Pavlatou
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Maria-Anna Gatou: Laboratory of General Chemistry, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 9, Iroon Polytechniou Str., Zografou, 15780 Athens, Greece
Panagiota Bika: Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, 15341 Athens, Greece
Thomas Stergiopoulos: Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, 15341 Athens, Greece
Panagiotis Dallas: Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, 15341 Athens, Greece
Evangelia A. Pavlatou: Laboratory of General Chemistry, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 9, Iroon Polytechniou Str., Zografou, 15780 Athens, Greece

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-26

Abstract: Covalent organic frameworks comprise a unique class of functional materials that has recently emerged as a versatile tool for energy-related, photocatalytic, environmental, and electrochromic device applications. A plethora of structures can be designed and implemented through a careful selection of ligands and functional units. On the other hand, porous materials for heavy metal absorption are constantly on the forefront of materials science due to the significant health issues that arise from the release of the latter to aquatic environments. In this critical review, we provide insights on the correlation between the structure of functional covalent organic frameworks and their heavy metal absorption. The elements we selected were Pb, Hg, Cr, Cd, and As metal ions, as well as radioactive elements, and we focused on their removal with functional networks. Finally, we outline their advantages and disadvantages compared to other competitive systems such as zeolites and metal organic frameworks (MOFs), we analyze the potential drawbacks for industrial scale applications, and we provide our outlook on the future of this emerging field.

Keywords: covalent organic frameworks; heavy metals; environmental remediation; wastewater treatment; adsorption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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