An apparatus and a method are provided for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) air filter to remove airborne molecular contaminants and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from air within building spaces. The air filter comprises a support frame having a shape and size suitable to orient the air filter within a HVAC system. A compound filter medium is retained within the support frame to remove the airborne molecular contaminants and VOCs from air flowing through the HVAC system. A portion of the first media layer is pleated and may comprise a combination of media layers configured to exhibit a relatively high filtration efficiency and a low air pressure drop across the filter medium. A second portion of the filter medium is coupled to the first portion and maintains a uniform distribution of the pleats with the first portion.