Metal-organic frameworks for electrocatalysis

Porous coordination polymers (PCPs) or metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely used as catalysts for their large porosities, uniform pore sizes/shapes, diversified/tunable pore surfaces, redox properties, and other unique structural features. Accompanying the urgent need for clean and sustainable technologies for energy storage and conversion, as well as the fast improvement of the chemical stability of these materials, MOFs and their composites are emerging as unique electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, oxygen reduction reaction, carbon dioxide reduction reaction, and some other redox reactions. This review summaries representative progress and focuses on the structure-property relationships. Combining the advantages of inorganic heterogeneous and molecular homogeneous catalysts, MOFs can serve as a promising platform for achieving high electrocatalytic performances and studying the electrocatalytic mechanisms. More attention should be devoted to designing new MOFs with high chemical stability and electric conductivity, and optimizing their crystal growth on conducting substances.