Water pollution is a foremost problem across the world that endangers the survival and development of man and society. As a result of this menace, the effective and efficient removal of heavy metal ions from water has become a serious concern. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained attention as promising materials for liquid-phase adsorptive removal of heavy metal ions. Properties such as large surface area, high adsorption capacity, tunable porosity, hierarchical structure and recyclability give MOFs an edge over conventional adsorbents. In this article, recent advances in the removal of toxic heavy metal ions from water by MOFs are highlighted.

Chemistry is truly very helpful to us as its applications are used globally for numerous purposes. Almost all products have been manufactured involving one or more chemical processes. Therefore, we cannot imagine our life without the products produced by the chemical industry. However, to obtain our desired products, always a large amount of wastes and hazardous materials are generated. "Green Chemistry" is the universally accepted term which describes the movement towards more environmentally acceptable chemical processes and products.