Recent progress in polydopamine-based composites for the adsorption and degradation of industrial wastewater treatment

Polydopamine-based composites have attracted much attention due to polydopamine (PDA) similarity to 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine (DOPA), a key structure that produces superior adhesion stem from mussel foot silk protein. Considering that PDA is rich in highly active functional groups such as catechol groups and amine groups etc., it is desirable to provide a large number of active sites through various strong interactions just like hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, π–π stacking interactions, coordination or chelation, thereby removing pollutants such as heavy metals or organic synthetic dyes from industrial waste water. In fact, the introduction of PDA into wastewater treatment materials will greatly improve the pH usage range, accuracy, and biocompatibility of adsorbent, which has generated the interest of water treatment materials researchers. In this review article, based on the two methods of adsorption and degradation commonly used in water treatment, which mainly refer to separation of heavy metal ions and degradation of organic pollutants, we describe the special role of PDA in the process of removing pollutants from industrial wastewater materials in recent years. A brief summary and some key issues in water treatment field and must be considered in future research is given in the finally. We hope to provide researchers with ideas based on the outstanding advantages of PDA composite materials in the treatment of pollutants in wastewater, so that the role of PDA can be better explored.