Coordination polymers: Challenges and future scenarios for capture and degradation of volatile organic compounds

Over the past few decades, coordination polymers/metal organic frameworks (CPs/MOFs) have drawn a great deal of attention for diverse applications due to their advantages of intrinsically tunable chemical structure, flexible architecture, high pore volume, high surface area, multifunctional properties, etc. To date, numerous CPs/MOFs have been developed and employed for the treatment and control of gaseous pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), through capture, sorptive removal, and catalytic degradation. Nevertheless, there are also some key drawbacks and challenges for the practical application of these systems (e.g., poor selectivity, high energy (and fiscal) cost, high synthesis cost, low capacity, and difficulties in regeneration and recycling). In this review, recent developments in CPs/MOFs research are described with their associated mechanisms for capture, sorptive removal, and catalytic degradation of VOCs. To this end, we discuss the key variables and challenges for afforded abatement of VOCs through CPs/MOFs technologies. Hopefully, this review will help the scientific community set future directions for the advancement of CPs/MOFs techniques for the effective management of diverse environmental issues.