MOFs as Versatile Catalysts: Synthesis Strategies and Applications in Value-Added Compound Production

Abstract

Catalysts played a crucial role in advancing modern human civilization, from ancient times to the industrial revolution. Due to high cost and limited availability of traditional catalysts, there is a need to develop cost-effective, high-activity, and nonprecious metal-based electrocatalysts. Metal−organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as an ideal candidate for heterogeneous catalysis due to their physicochemical properties, hybrid inorganic/organic structures, uncoordinated metal sites, and accessible organic sections. MOFs are high nanoporous crystalline materials that can be used as catalysts to facilitate polymerization reactions. Their chemical and structural diversity make them effective for various reactions compared to traditional catalysts. MOFs have been applied in gas storage and separation, ion-exchange, drug delivery, luminescence, sensing, nanofilters, water purification, and catalysis. The review focuses on MOF-enabled heterogeneous catalysis for value-added compound production, including alcohol oxidation, olefin oligomerization, and polymerization reactions. MOFs offer tunable porosity, high spatial density, and single-crystal XRD control over catalyst properties. In this review, MOFs were focused on reactions of CO 2 fixation, CO 2 reduction, and photoelectrochemical water splitting. Overall, MOFs have great potential as versatile catalysts for diverse applications in the future.

Hydrogen Production Using Modern Photocatalysts

“…Synthesis or subsequent processing of these materials allows for the incorporation of different types of ligands and metals. The inherent structural arrangement of MOFs enables them to achieve enhanced levels of photocatalytic activity [129][130][131]. The combination of different materials within MOFs could significantly improve hydrogen production performance.…”

Recent Advances in the Fixation of CO2 into Quinazoline and Benzimidazole

“…Fossil fuels are the primary source of carbon used to meet energy needs. − The burning of fossil fuels, along with various anthropological activities such as emissions from industry, transportation, and energy production, has led to an increase in the concentration of CO 2 in the Earth’s atmosphere. − The high concentration of CO 2 is harming the environment and leading to an increase in temperature, change in precipitation patterns, ocean acidification, glacier melting, ozone depletion, acid rain, etc. All these abnormal behaviors are major concerns to human health. ,,,− The CO 2 concentration was 280 ppm at the beginning of industrialization and rose to 421 ppm to date (Figure ).…”

Physicochemical characterization of metal organic framework materials: A mini review

“…MOFs are proved to be superior when compared with other sensing materials owing to their distinguished sensing properties [ 22 ]. MOFs have been introduced as ideal candidates for heterogeneous catalysis for reactions owing to (i) their physicochemical properties, (ii) the porous hybrid metal/organic assemblies, and (iii) the existence of vacant metal sites and reachable organic moieties [ 23 ]. MOF-derived materials draw considerable research interest as catalysts for organic reactions owing to their flexible tunability, high catalytic activity, and high controllability in the fabrication of a catalyst structure [ 24 ].…”