Achievements in Preparation of Cyclodextrin-Based Porous Materials for Removal of Pollutants

Cyclodextrin-based porous materials have been widely applied in removing various organic pollutants from water environments, due to their unique physical and chemical properties, like the size-matching effect and hydrophobic interaction. Large numbers of hydroxyl groups in its external structure give cyclodextrin a high solubility in water, but the existence of these hydroxyl groups also endows cyclodextrin with the ability to be chemically modified with various functional groups to reduce its solubility in water and, meanwhile, to develop some novel functionalized cyclodextrin-based porous materials for selective removal of the target organic pollutants. This review focuses on the recent development in the synthesis of cyclodextrin-based porous materials (crosslinked cyclodextrin polymers and immobilized cyclodextrins), as well as highlighting their applications and mechanisms in the removal of dyes, endocrine disruptors, and mixed pollutants from water. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives in related research fields are discussed.