Sustainable Conversion of PET Waste into Metal–Organic Frameworks for Diverse Advanced Applications

Non-biodegradable plastics are becoming an increasingly dangerous threat requiring prompt and forceful action. The accumulation of these plastics affects not only land and marine life but also human livelihoods, especially those dependent on affected ecosystems. Furthermore, disposal techniques like landfills and incinerators have adverse environmental effects, such as air pollution and soil damage. As a result, this issue needs to be handled immediately, and creative solutions are required. These polymer's conversion into valuable goods like MOFs has the potential to alter waste management and pave new directions for material science. Researchers have been paying close attention to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) because of their many uses, which include medication delivery, energy storage devices, supercapacitors, photocatalytic degradation, sensing, adsorption, and more. This review addresses the (1) waste disposal problem and solves other environmental challenges, (2) provides a detailed overview of the synthesis of terephthalic acid (PTA) from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a crucial organic linker for the MOFs, highlighting key methodologies and challenges in this process and lastly it (3) also comprehensively explains each application area while discussing associated difficulties, benefits, and prospects. The study encapsulates literature from 2016 to 2024, cherry-picking the most pertinent contributions in this burgeoning field of research. It also provides researchers and professionals working in this sector with MOFs that will be a helpful reference and pique their curiosity.