Activated Carbon, Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene: Materials and Composites for Advanced Water Purification

Abstract

To ensure the availability of clean water for humans into the future, efficient and cost-effective water purification technology will be required. The rapidly decreasing quality of water and the growing global demand for this scarce resource has driven the pursuit of high-performance purification materials, particularly for application as point-of-use devices. This review will introduce the main types of natural and artificial contaminants that are present in water and the challenges associated with their effective removal. The efficiency and performance of recently developed materials for water purification, with a focus on activated carbon, carbon nanotubes and graphene will be discussed. The recent advances in water purification using these materials is reviewed and their applicability as point-of-use water purification systems discussed.