Porous metal-organic framework (MOF)-based and MOF-derived electrocatalytic materials for energy conversion

Porous MOF-based and MOF-derived materials are ecofriendly and safe electrocatalysts with fast-growing research hotspots to solve the associated challenges in energy conversion technologies. This is due to their exceptional compositions, diverse structures, tunability, larger surface areas, higher porosities, homometallic/heterometallic cluster as a secondary building unit, numerous empty space regions for adsorbing guest molecules and, at the same time, chemically transform. In this review, we discuss various electrocatalytic performances of porous MOF-based and MOF-derived electrocatalysts for carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and overall water splitting. The study firstly discusses the evolution of porous MOF-based and MOF-derived materials and the four generations of MOFs. We thereby discuss the synthetic methods of various porous MOFs and MOF-derived electrocatalysts. The study further highlights comprehensive advancements in the fast-growing literature in the field and the corresponding correlation between porous MOFs and MOF-derived structural parameters and electrocatalytic performance for each energy conversion device. Conclusively, this study highlighted some associated challenges, various strategies, and prospects to foster advancement in the field.