Harnessing Advanced Porous Materials, Covalent Organic Frameworks, and Porous Organic Polymers as Next-Generation Porous Frameworks for Targeted Removal of Emerging Water Contaminants

The rapid advancements in various industries have exacerbated water pollution, threatening human health and the environment. The effective removal of toxic chemicals and heavy metal ions from wastewater is crucial for maintaining water quality and environmental safety. While conventional wastewater treatment methods have been widely explored, they often suffer from limitations such as low selectivity and insufficient absorption capacity, impeding their ability to meet modern water quality standards. These challenges highlight the urgent need for innovative solutions, specifically advanced porous materials (APMs), which can overcome the shortcomings of traditional approaches. APMs, including metal−organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), covalent organic polymers (COPs), and porous organic polymers (POPs), have emerged as highly effective materials due to their superior adsorption performance, high selectivity, and enhanced absorption capacity for toxic and radioactive metal ions. This review critically evaluates the recent advancements in MOFs, COFs, and POPs for the selective removal of emerging water contaminants. It provides a comparative analysis of their structural attributes, adsorption mechanisms, and performance metrics, while outlining existing challenges and future directions. Emphasis is placed on bridging the gap between material innovation and practical water treatment solutions, offering insights into how these advanced porous materials can be translated into scalable, sustainable, and effective technologies for environmental remediation. It explores the underlying receptor chemistry essential for the targeted removal of hazardous water contaminants, offering insights into the molecular characteristics that enable efficient separation. Finally, this review outlines future research directions, opportunities, and challenges, encouraging further exploration and application of APMs in the pursuit of more effective and sustainable water pollution management solutions.