Silk‐Based Eco‐Friendly Materials for the Remediation of Hazardous Organic Pollutants: A Sustainable Approach

ABSTRACT Silk‐based materials have emerged as potential candidates for removal of hazardous organic pollutants like dyes, pesticides, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, phenolic compounds, and pharmaceutical compounds from wastewater. The natural availability, biocompatibility, good mechanical strength, and biodegradability are some of the advantages that are offered by silk‐based materials. Recently, research has been done to enhance the characteristics and stability of silk fibroins by crosslinking and mixing them with other macromolecules resulting in biodegradable silk‐based composites with excellent removal efficiencies for toxic organic pollutants. This review goes beyond earlier studies on biopolymers like chitosan and cellulose by focusing on silk's unique protein‐based structure and versatility. Further, recent studies focused on the characteristics and uses of most promising and efficient silk‐based materials in the removal of commonly used hazardous synthetic and natural organic pollutants from wastewater have been systematically discussed. In addition, the mechanism of removal and reusability of silk‐based materials has been highlighted. Further, the advantages and challenges in this direction and the future research perspectives have also been discussed.