Adsorption is one of the most widely used and effective wastewater treatment methods. The role of ionic strength (IS) in shaping the adsorption performances is much necessary due to the ubiquity of electrolyte ions in water body and industrial effluents. The influences of IS on adsorption are rather complex, because electrolyte ions affect both adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics by changing the basic characteristics of adsorbents and adsorbates. For a given adsorption system, multiple or even contradictory effects of IS may coexist under identical experimental conditions, rendering the dominant mechanism recognition and net effect prediction complicated. We herein reviewed the key advancement on the interaction and mechanisms of IS, including change in number of active sites for adsorbents, ion pair for metal ions, molecular aggregation and salting-out effect for organic compounds, site competition for both inorganic and organic adsorbates, and charge compensation for adsorbent-adsorbate reciprocal interactions. The corresponding fundamental theory was thoroughly described, and the efforts made by various researchers were explicated. The structural optimization of adsorbents affected by IS was detailed, also highlighting polyamine materials with exciting “salt-promotion” effects on heavy metal removal from high salinity wastewater. In addition, the research trends and prospects were briefly discussed.

吸附是最广泛使用和有效的废水处理方法之一。由于水体和工业废水中普遍存在电解质离子，因此非常需要离子强度（IS）在影响吸附性能方面发挥作用。IS对吸附的影响相当复杂，因为电解质离子通过改变吸附剂和被吸附物的基本特性影响吸附动力学和热力学。对于给定的吸附系统，在相同的实验条件下，IS的多种或什至矛盾的作用可能共存，从而使主要的机理识别和净效果预测变得复杂。我们在这里回顾了IS相互作用和机制的关键进展包括吸附剂活性位点数量的变化，金属离子的离子对，有机化合物的分子聚集和盐析效应，无机和有机吸附剂的位点竞争以及吸附剂-吸附剂相互相互作用的电荷补偿。对相应的基础理论进行了详尽的描述，并阐明了各个研究人员所做的努力。详细介绍了受IS影响的吸附剂的结构优化，还重点介绍了对高盐度废水中重金属的去除具有令人兴奋的“盐促进”作用的多胺材料。此外，还简要讨论了研究趋势和前景。