Recent developments in the adsorptive removal of heavy metal ions using metal-organic frameworks and graphene-based adsorbents

Clean and potable water is a growing concern around the globe. Among the different water pollutants, heavy metal ions pose a serious health concern to all living beings. The quest for new adsorbents to remove heavy metal ions received a boost with the development in the field of metal-organic framework (MOF). The advancement in synthetic strategies and designing of MOF enabled the researchers to tune the adsorption characteristics and tailor the material specific to a heavy metal ion. Similar to MOF, graphene-based two-dimensional and three-dimensional materials are also promising due to the diverse functionalization possibilities and cost-effectiveness. There had been growing interest in applying MOF and graphene-based materials for the removal of heavy metal ions in the past decade. This review summarizes these developments in detail.