Recent advancements in UiO-66(Zr) MOFs and their derivatives: Designing water-stable membranes for water applications

UiO-66-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and their functional derivatives are highly promising nanofillers for next-generation water purification membranes due to their exceptional water stability, high surface area, and tunable porosity. This review emphasizes recent developments in creating membranes with UiO-66 and how these MOFs improve key performance metrics. It explores the synthesis of UiO-66-based MOFs, their integration into membranes, and their uses in desalination, heavy metal removal, oil/water separation, dye removal, and pharmaceutical extraction. The strong Zr-carboxylate framework in the MOFs provides the membranes with excellent chemical and thermal stability, maintaining resilience under harsh conditions, such as extreme pH and high salinity. Furthermore, we review the enhancement of cross-linking, hydrophilicity, water channel formation, and anti-fouling properties of membranes through the integration of UiO-66-based MOFs. The MOFs create additional hydrophilic water transport channels, improving polymer cross-linking and yielding higher water flux and enhanced contaminant rejection. Additionally, we discuss methods to functionalize UiO-66 and combine it with materials like carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide, and MXene to further improve the permeability-selectivity balance and prevent MOF aggregation. The synergy of UiO-66's stability and tunable functionality with membrane matrices yields membranes that simultaneously offer high permeability, selectivity, durability, and resistance to fouling. This makes UiO-66-based MOFs essential components for future water treatment solutions. The review also highlights the challenges and suggests future research areas to improve UiO-66-based membranes.