Applications of metal-organic framework based membranes in water purification: A review

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted a great deal of attention due to their flexibility and various potential applications. MOF-based membranes have been widely applied in forward-osmosis (FO), reverse-osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF), and ultrafiltration (UF) processes. While a few recent studies have reviewed the applications of MOF-based membranes in water purification, a systematic understanding is still necessary to evaluate the transport mechanisms of various compounds by different MOF-based membranes under various operating and water-quality conditions. Here, we present a comprehensive literature review of recent findings and suggest future research trends by identifying insufficiencies of current knowledge, focusing on the performance of MOF-based membranes in water purification, as the transport of inorganic and organic compounds by MOF-based membranes is highly influenced by the different properties of compounds in addition to waterchemistry conditions and membrane properties. This study focused on several main parameters such as methods for synthesis of MOF-based membranes, membrane properties, and the physicochemical properties of various compounds, which affect the transport of compounds during MOF-based FO/RO/NF/UF membrane filtration. In addition, we provide the continuing challenges and areas of future study in this field.