Carbon-Based Sorbents with Three-Dimensional Architectures for Water Remediation

Over the past decade, carbon-based 3D architectures have received increasing attention in science and technology due to their fascinating properties, such as a large surface area, macroscopic bulky shape, and interconnected porous structures, enabling them to be one of the most promising materials for water remediation. This review summarizes the recent development in design, preparation, and applications of carbon-based 3D architectures derived from carbon nanotubes, graphene, biomass, or synthetic polymers for water treatment. After a brief introduction of these materials and their synthetic strategies, their applications in water treatment, such as the removal of oils/organics, ions, and dyes, are summarized. Finally, future perspective directions for this promising field are also discussed. Carbon-based 3D macroscopic architectures (e.g., carbon aerogels) have received great interest due to their outstanding properties. This review reports the current status of design, preparation, and utilization of carbon-based 3D macroscopic architectures derived from carbon nanotubes, graphene, biomass, or synthetic polymers, focusing on their applications for water remediation, such as cleanup of oil, organics, dyes, and ions.