Conductive polymers in water treatment: A review

Since drinkable water resources are not infinite, the most plausible solution to address the forthcoming water scarcity is to treat the polluted water streams. This state-of-the-art review highlights the prime role of conductive polymers (CPs), widely known as intrinsically conductive polymers (ICPs), in wastewater treatment through reviewing very recent studies conducted on the elimination of noxious contaminations. Herein, after a brief introduction to the characteristics of conductive polymers, we tried to give a more comprehensive overview of the decontamination of polluted water based on different prevailing water treatment processes. The first section belonged to the adsorptive removal of pollutants is well-featured on various heavy-metal ions capture along with a comprehensive discussion on the governing uptake mechanism. After that, diversified types of CP-based composites applied for sorptive elimination of other types of pollutants, especially organic dyes, and their possible adsorption mechanism was also reviewed in detail. Next, recent publications related to CP-based photocatalysts utilized for the degradation of aquatic contamination were adequately summarized. The applicability and efficiency of the CP-based membrane for water purification through different membrane filtration techniques were underscored. Moreover, In the last section of the current study, a conclusion and perspective are provided, in which we discussed what one could discern from the remaining distinctive challenges, limitations, and, more importantly, the envisaged future directions of CP-based materials toward water treatment.