Adsorptive removal of pesticides from water with metal–organic framework-based materials

The contamination of water with pesticides has led to serious environmental problems worldwide that pose significant risk for human health. Therefore, the effective removal of pesticides from the aqueous environment has attracted considerable attention from researchers. Adsorption is one of the most promising methods for removing pesticides because of its low cost and mild and simple operating conditions. In this context, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as competitive adsorbents because of their easy functionalization, tunable pore size, high surface area, and facile production. This review firstly reports the development of MOF-based adsorbents, including pristine MOFs, functionalized MOFs, MOF composites, and MOF-derived materials, for the adsorptive removal of pesticides from aqueous solutions to mitigate environmental pollution. Moreover, after a brief summary of these achievements, the prospects of additional research in this field are suggested.