Advanced Functional Nanomaterials for Water Purification: Innovations in Adsorption and Photocatalytic Treatment Technologies

Abstract

Water contamination driven by rapid industrialization, agricultural runoff,and emerging micropollutants poses a grave global threat to public health and ecological sustainability. Traditional wastewater treatment processes—such as coagulation, sedimentation, and biological treatment—frequently fail to eradicate recalcitrant organic dyes, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, andpersistent toxic chemicals. Over the past decade, advanced functionalnanomaterials have emerged as highly potent solutions due to their exceptionally high specific surface area, tunable pore architectures, quantum confinement effects, and tailored surface reactivity. This comprehensive review critically synthesizes recent technological breakthroughs in the design, synthesis, and application of engineered nanomaterials for water purification, with a dedicated focus on adsorption and photocatalytic oxidation mechanisms. We systematically evaluate metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), graphene-based nanocomposites, MXenes, carbon quantum dots (CQDs), and heterojunction semiconductor photocatalysts (e.g., TiO2, g-C3N4, BiOBr). The fundamental mechanisms governing contaminant binding (electrostatic interactions, ?-? electron donor-acceptor interactions, surface complexation, ion exchange) and solar light-driven degradation (charge-carrier generation, interfacial electron transfer, ROS generation) are thoroughly unpacked. Furthermore, we address critical technical bottlenecks, including nanotoxicity, bioaccumulation, reusability, chemical stability, and full-scale process economics. By bridging the gap between bench-scale synthesis and industrial-scale engineering, this review provides strategic insights into the future commercial deployment of nano-enabled water treatment technologies.  KEYWORDS: Functional Nanomaterials; Water Purification; Metal-OrganicFrameworks; Heterojunction Photocatalysis; Heavy Metal Adsorption;Advanced Oxidation Processes; Environmental Remediation.