Preface

As a new type of functional molecular material, the design and synthesis of MOFs with the desired structure and properties have become one of the frontier fields of coordination chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, crystal engineering and materials science. The research of MOFs spans many disciplines, such as inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, coordination chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, crystal engineering and materials science. The design, synthesis, and applications of MOFs have attracted tremendous attention in broad scientific areas. Therefore, it is worth releasing a professional publication to elucidate many related issues.

In addition to catalysis, MOFs have found increasing applications in photocatalysis and electrocatalysis. Thanks to their remarkable features, MOFs have opened new horizons in solar photocatalysis for hydrogen generation, CO ₂ reduction, and removal of inorganic/organic pollutants. Their excellent photocatalytic behavior could be assigned to the interactions between the organic linkers and the metallic nodes. Photo-induced linker-metal single electron transfer is one of the most general mechanisms which can result in enhanced carrier mobility, decreased recombination rate, and improved charge separation efficiency. Visible light absorption can be enhanced by substituting the linkers with those having higher surface absorbance; while more efficient electron transfer can be achieved through nodes’ modification by ion exchange.

MOFs and their composites have been lately used as a precursor for electrocatalysis of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and CO ₂ reduction reaction (CO ₂RR) owing to their superior electrical conductivity and uniform active site distribution. Thanks to their tunable and porous crystalline structure, excellent surface area, feasible mass transfer routes, and atomic dispersion of metallic active sites, MOFs are promising structures for future electrocatalysis.