Metal-Organic Frameworks as Platform Materials for Solar Fuels Catalysis

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising platform materials for solar fuels catalysis owing, in part, to their synthetic tunability and variability. MOFs can be designed and employed as supports for known molecular and nanoparticulate catalysts and for new atomically precise cluster-based catalysts. Rational modification of the organic linkers that define the framework affords the possibility of incorporating known photosensitizers or functional groups to generate hybrid materials that can serve to absorb light, facilitate substrate transport, and catalyze chemical reactions. In this Review, we highlight the diversity of approaches that have been taken to functionalizing, designing, and modifying MOFs for solar fuels generation where MOFs have typically been used as supports or as scaffolds for known catalysts. We additionally highlight the potential of MOFs as platform materials for new and existing cluster-based heterogeneous catalytic systems where both the active sites and the support can be characterized with near atomic-scale precision.