Metal-Organic Frameworks-Derived Nanocarbon Materials and Nanometal Oxides for Photocatalytic Applications

Harnessing low-density solar energy and converting it into high-density chemical energy through photocatalysis has emerged as a promising avenue for the production of chemicals and remediation of environmental pollution, which contributes to alleviating the overreliance on fossil fuels. In recent years, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained widespread application in the field of photocatalysis due to their photostability, tunable structures, and responsiveness in the visible light range. However, most MOFs exhibit relatively low response to light, limiting their practical applications. MOFs-derived nanomaterials not only retain the inherent advantages of pristine MOFs but also show enhanced light adsorption and responsiveness. This review categorizes and summarizes MOFs-derived nanomaterials, including nanocarbons and nanometal oxides, providing representative examples for the synthetic strategies of each category. Subsequently, the recent research progress on MOFs-derived materials in photocatalytic applications are systematically introduced, specifically in the areas of photocatalytic water splitting to H2, photocatalytic CO2 reduction, and photocatalytic water treatment. The corresponding mechanisms involved in each photocatalytic reaction are elaborated in detail. Finally, the review discusses the challenges and further directions faced by MOFs-derived nanomaterials in the field of photocatalysis, highlighting their potential role in advancing sustainable energy production and environmental remediation.

Synthesis and Characterization of MOF-Derived Structures: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Due to their facile tunability, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are employed as precursors and templates to construct advanced functional materials with unique and desired chemical, physical, mechanical, and morphological properties. By tuning MOF precursor composition and manipulating conversion processes, various MOF-derived materials commonly known as MOF derivatives can be constructed. The possibility of controlled and predictable properties makes MOF derivatives a preferred choice for numerous advanced technological applications. The innovative synthetic designs besides the plethora of interdisciplinary characterization approaches applicable to MOF derivatives provide the opportunity to perform a myriad of experiments to explore the performance and offer key insight to develop the next generation of advanced materials. Though there are many published works of literature describing various synthesis and characterization techniques of MOF derivatives, it is still not clear how the synthesis mechanism works and what are the best techniques to characterize these materials to probe their properties accurately. In this review, the recent development in synthesis techniques and mechanisms for a variety of MOF derivates such as MOF-derived metal oxides, porous carbon, composites/hybrids, and sulfides is summarized. Furthermore, the details of characterization techniques and fundamental working principles are summarized to probe the structural, mechanical, physiochemical, electrochemical, and electronic properties of MOF and MOF derivatives. The future trends and some remaining challenges in the synthesis and characterization of MOF derivatives are also discussed.

Metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived hollow hybrid Cu2O/Cu/Au for non-enzymatic H2O2 sensing

Hollow Cu2O/Cu/Au is synthesized using hollow Cu2O/Cu derived from hollow Cu-MOF-74 as a self-sacrificial template with a uniform dispersion of Au particles. It integrates high sensitivity and wide detection range for H2O2 non-enzymatic sensing.

Three 3D Co(ii) cluster-based MOFs constructed from polycarboxylate acids and bis(imidazole) ligands and their derivatives: magnetic properties and catalytic performance for the ORR

Three 3D Co-MOFs constructed from polycarboxylate acids and bis(imidazole) ligands were prepared by urothermal synthesis and the derived porous carbon material shows comparable electrocatalytic property toward the ORR.

Ph-Directed Assembly of Two 2D Copper(II) Coordination Polymers Based on Mixed Benzenetetracarboxylate and 1,4-bis(1,2,4-triazole-1-ylmethyl)-2,3,5,6-Tetrafluorobenzene Ligands: Syntheses, Structures and Properties

Two new Cu(II) coordination polymers [Cu(Fbtx)(H2btec)(H2O)2]n and {[Cu(Fbtx)(btec)0.5(H2O)2]·H2O}n have been synthesised by hydrothermal reactions of Cu(II) nitrate with 1,4-bis(1,2,4-triazole-1-ylmethyl)-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzene (Fbtx) and 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic acid (H4btec) under different pH conditions. The first complex has a two-dimensional four-connected layer structure with a 44-sql topology, whereas the second has a two-dimensional three-connected brick-wall network. The luminescence properties of the complexes in the solid state and their thermal stabilities have also been studied.

Benzoate Acid-Dependent Lattice Dimension of Co-MOFs and MOF-Derived CoS2@CNTs with Tunable Pore Diameters for Supercapacitors

Herein three novel cobalt metal-organic frameworks (Co-MOFs) with similar ingredients, [Co(bib)(o-bdc)]_∞ (1), [Co₂(bib)₂(m-bdc)₂]_∞ (2), and {[Co(bib)(p-bdc)(H₂O)](H₂O)_0.5}_∞ (3), have been synthesized from the reaction of cobalt nitrate with 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-yl)benzene (bib) and structure-related aromatic acids (1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid = o-bdc, 1,3-benzenedicarboxylic acid = m-bdc, and 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid = p-bdc) by the solvothermal method. It is aimed to perform systematic research on the relationship among the conformation of benzoate acid, lattice dimension of Co-MOF, and pore diameter of MOF-derived carbon composite. Through the precursor strategy, Co-MOFs 1-3 have been utilized to synthesize porous cobalt@carbon nanotube composites (Co@CNTs). After the in situ gas-sulfurization, secondary composites CoS₂@CNTs were successfully obtained, which kept similar morphologies of corresponding Co@CNTs without destroying previous highly dispersed structures. Co-MOFs and two series of composites (Co@CNTs and CoS₂@CNTs) have been well characterized. Topology and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analyses elucidate that the bdc^2- ion could control the pore diameters of MOF-derived carbon composites by adjusting the lattice dimension of Co-MOFs. The systematic studies on electrochemical properties demonstrate that (p)-CoS₂@CNT possesses hierarchical morphology, moderate specific surface area, proper pore diameter distribution, and high graphitization, which lead to remarkable specific capacitances (839 F g^-1 at 5 mV s^-1 and 825 F g^-1 at 0.5 A g^-1) in 2 M potassium hydroxide solution. In addition, the (p)-CoS₂@CNT electrode exhibits good electrochemical stability and still retains 82.9% of initial specific capacitance at the current density of 1 A g^-1 after 5000 cycles.

Controlling the BET Surface Area of Porous Carbon by Using the Cd/C Ratio of a Cd-MOF Precursor and Enhancing the Capacitance by Activation with KOH

Herein, four new cadmium metal-organic frameworks (Cd-MOFs), [Cd(bib)(bdc)]_∞ (1), [Cd(bbib)(bdc)(H₂ O)]_∞ (2), [Cd(bibp)(bdc)]_∞ (3), and [Cd₂ (bbibp)₂ (bdc)₂ (H₂ O)]_∞ (4), have been constructed from the reaction of Cd(NO₃ )₂ ⋅4 H₂ O with 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate (H₂ bdc) and structure-related bis(imidazole) ligands (1,4-bis(imidazol-1-yl)benzene (bib), 1,4-bis(benzoimidazol-1-yl)benzene (bbib), 4,4'-bis(imidazol-1-yl)biphenyl (bibp), and 4,4'-bis(benzoimidazol-1-yl)biphenyl (bbibp)) under solvothermal conditions. Cd-MOF 1 shows a 2D (4,4) lattice with parallel interpenetration, whereas 2 displays an interesting 3D interpenetrating dia network, 3 exhibits an unusual 3D interpenetrating dmp network, and 4 presents a 3D self-catenated pillar-layered framework with a Schäfli symbol of [4³ ⋅6³ ]₂ ⋅[4⁶ ⋅6¹⁶ ⋅8⁶ ]. The structural diversity indicates that the backbone of the bis(imidazole) ligand (including the terminal group and spacer) plays a crucial role in the assembly of mixed-ligand frameworks. By using the pore-forming effect of cadmium vapor, for the first time we have utilized these Cd-MOFs as precursors to further prepare porous carbon materials (PCs) in a calcination-thermolysis procedure. These PCs show different porous features that correspond to the topological structures of Cd-MOFs. Significantly, it was found that the specific surface area and capacitance of PCs are tuned by the Cd/C ratio of the MOF. Furthermore, the as-synthesized PCs were processed with KOH to obtain activated porous carbon materials (APCs) with higher specific surface area and porosity, which greatly promoted the energy-storage capacity. After full characterization, we found that APC-bib displays the largest specific surface area (1290 m²  g^-1 ) and total pore volume (1.37 cm³  g^-1 ) of this series of carbon materials. Consequently, APC-bib demonstrates the highest specific capacitance of 164 F g^-1 at a current density of 0.5 A g^-1 , and also excellent retention of capacitance (≈89.4 % after 5000 cycles at 1 A g^-1 ). Therefore, APC-bib has great potential as the electrode material in a supercapacitor.