Recent advances in metal-organic frameworks as adsorbent materials for hazardous dye molecules

Water is vital for the sustenance of all forms of life. Hence, water pollution is a universal crisis for the survival for all forms of life and a hurdle in sustainable development. Textile industry is one of the anthropogenic activities that severely pollutes water bodies. Inefficient dyeing processes result in thousands of tons of synthetic dyes being dumped in water bodies every year. Therefore, the efficient removal of synthetic dyes from wastewater has become a challenging research field. Owing to their tuneable structure-property aspects, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising adsorbents for the adsorptive removal of dyes from wastewater and textile effluents. In this perspective, we highlight recent studies involving the application of MOFs for the adsorptive removal of hazardous dye molecules. We also classify the developed MOFs into cationic, anionic, and neutral framework categories to comprehend their suitability for the removal of a given class of dyes. Recent studies on metal-organic framework (MOF)-based adsorbents for the removal of carcinogenic organic dye pollutants have been summarized with a handful of recent examples.