Pore-networked membrane using linked metal-organic polyhedra for trace-level pollutant removal and detection in environmental water

Abstract

The wide presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in water is a major pollution concern even at the part per billion level, which urges their detection and removal. Current research emphasizes the use of microporous materials as adsorbents for pollutant removal but demonstrates the performance at a higher concentration than realistic environmental water due to the absence of efficient detection methods that can be coupled with the removal process. Here we report a pore-networked membrane (PNM) that can simultaneously remove and detect targeted trace-level PPCPs. These PNMs are designed by interconnecting adsorbents within polymer matrices, forming continuous, tunable porous networks that are accessible for PPCPs, thereby offering high selectivity and adsorption capacity. Evaluations across water samples containing 13 pollutants demonstrate the capability of PNMs to selectively adsorb PPCPs for removal and subsequently release them into analysis solution for detection, positioning their promising use in real water treatment workflow.