Boron-Functionalized Ferrite Nanocomposites for Water Remediation: A Mechanism-Guided Critical Review with Integrated Reliability–Practicality Scoring

Abstract

Boron-functionalized ferrite nanomaterials have emerged as promising multifunctional platforms for water remediation, leveraging a synergy of high adsorption capacity, magnetic recoverability, structural tunability, and environmental adaptability. Recent progress is primarily driven by the integration of ferrite nanoparticles with diverse boron-based architectures, such as hexagonal boron nitride, boron nitride nanosheets, boron-doped ferrites, and hybrid carbonaceous supports. These integrated systems not only enhance adsorption efficacy against a broad spectrum of contaminants (e.g., heavy metals, dyes, pharmaceuticals, and emerging pollutants) but also enable efficient magnetic separation and material recyclability. This review provides a comprehensive evaluation of boron-functionalized ferrite materials, focusing on synthesis strategies, structure–property relationships, adsorption mechanisms, magnetic recovery, regeneration stability, and practical applicability. Our analysis indicates that adsorption capacity alone is an insufficient metric for determining realistic deployment potential. Many systems reporting exceptionally high adsorption capacities often lack mechanistic validation, magnetic recoverability, or operational robustness. In contrast, several multifunctional architectures demonstrate superior practical applicability despite exhibiting only moderate adsorption capacities. To address this gap, the Integrated Reliability–Practicality Scoring framework as a semi-quantitative, multidimensional evaluation tool was proposed. This framework synthesizes six evidence-based assessment dimensions: mechanistic reliability, magnetic recovery quality, stability and reusability, operational realism, interfacial robustness, and reporting integrity. Applying the IRPS methodology to representative ferrite–BN systems reveals that balanced multifunctional performance serves as a more reliable indicator of deployment readiness than adsorption capacity alone. Notably, membrane-integrated and interface-stabilized ferrite–BN architectures consistently achieve the highest IRPS classifications, as they effectively combine adsorption functionality with strong recovery performance, structural durability, and realistic operational relevance. Ultimately, this review establishes a systematic framework for comparing multifunctional ferrite-based adsorbents beyond conventional, adsorption-centric metrics, highlighting critical future research priorities such as mechanistic validation, standardized recovery assessment, continuous-flow operation, and long-term durability. The proposed IRPS approach offers a practical benchmarking platform for the development and evaluation of next-generation ferrite–BN remediation technologies.