Heavy metal contamination in aquatic ecosystems is a global concern due to its toxicity, persistence, and potential for bioaccumulation. Effective removal is therefore essential. Among other techniques, adsorption is the most reliable and prevalent method of water purification. Graphene-based adsorbents exhibit significant advantages, including high specific surface area, small particle size, excellent mechanical properties, abundant functional groups, and high adsorption efficiency, making them promising materials for heavy metal removal from aqueous solutions. This article reviews recent advances in graphene and its derivative composites for heavy metal adsorption. It discusses structural features, adsorption mechanisms, synthesis methods, and the historical development of these composites. Key factors influencing adsorption capacity—such as temperature, pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, initial metal concentration, organic ligands, and coexisting ions—are also examined. Additionally, adsorption thermodynamics and regeneration behavior are evaluated, and future research directions for practical applications are outlined. Graphical Abstract

Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber is highly favored for fiber-based ballistic composites due to its high strength-to-weight ratio and flexibility. However, its poor adhesion to matrices largely limits its application in polymer composites. Also, the weight of ballistic armor produced from these fibers is still very high and there is a need to improve their performance to enable the use of lighter-weight armor. In this work, it was observed that applying plasma pre-treatment and waterborne polyurethane (PU)/inorganic fullerene-like tungsten disulfide (IF-WS₂) nanoparticle coating could significantly increase the toughness, energy to break, and maximum load of UHMWPE yarns. The corresponding properties of the plasma pre-treated and coated fibers increased up to 31.6%, 50.9%, and 33.3%, respectively. In addition, high wash durability of the coating was obtained with up to 92% weight retention after washing. Optimum properties were observed with the coating components of 15% PU (PUA type), 6% IF-WS₂, and water medium (SA3 nanocomposite). Moreover, plasma pre-treatment induced oxygen-containing functional groups on the fibers, which significantly improved the mechanical, viscoelastic, and wash durability properties of the final UHMWPE/PUA/IF-WS₂ composites.