Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of materials that exhibit an open framework with permanent porosity, high surface area and crystallinity. They are constructed by joining metal-containing units with organic linkers through self-assembly. Using MOFs, specifically ZIF-8, for filtration applications is a new and upcoming approach to improve water quality through absorption and filtration. ZIF-8 is a MOF that is part of the zeolitic imidazolate framework family. ZIF-8 is joined by the bonding of the zinc metal and nitrogen atom in the imidazolate organic linker. Its small pore size allows the MOF to filter out smaller heavy metal ions from water sources compared to the standard water filtration: porous carbon filtration. After a successful synthesis of ZIF-8, the material’s filtration performance has been tested with the removal of common contaminant metal ions from water. ZIF-8 has shown to be a promising way to filter metals, like copper, from water. The end aims of this project are to engineer a layer fabrication of porous carbon with subsequent layers of MOF materials to better filter a range of molecules, from large biomolecules to small inorganic species, from contaminated water.