Covalent Organic Frameworks for Detection and Removal of Mercury Ions: A Comprehensive Review

Mercury (Hg²⁺) contamination in water and the environment poses severe risks to human health and ecosystems due to its high toxicity, bioaccumulation, and persistence. Traditional methods for mercury detection and remediation, including activated carbons, ion-exchange resins, and chemical precipitation, often suffer from limited sensitivity, selectivity, and reusability. In recent years, covalent organic frameworks (COFs), a class of crystalline, porous, and tunable polymeric materials, have emerged as promising platforms for both mercury detection and removal. The inherent modularity, high surface area, and functionalization flexibility of COFs allow the design of sensors with high sensitivity and adsorbents with outstanding mercury uptake. This review systematically summarizes the advances in COF-based strategies for mercury sensing and adsorption. Detection mechanisms, including fluorescence quenching, colorimetric response, and electrochemical sensing, are discussed alongside structural factors influencing performance. Similarly, adsorption mechanisms, capacity optimization, kinetics, and regeneration strategies are reviewed. The manuscript also benchmarks COF performance against conventional sorbents, highlights mechanistic insights, and discusses challenges such as scalability, stability, and integration into real-world water treatment systems. Finally, future perspectives for COF-based mercury management are provided. This comprehensive review aims to guide researchers in the rational design of COFs for environmental monitoringand remediation application.

کلیدواژه ها:

Covalent organic frameworks ، Mercury ions ، Detection ، Adsorption ، Water remediation ، Fluorescent sensors ، Heavy metal removal