Photocatalytic Performance of Metal-Organic Frameworks

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a versatile class of porous crystalline materials in photocatalysis, combining high surface area with tunable chemistry. Their modular structures—built from metal ions or clusters linked by organic ligands—allow precise control over light absorption, charge-carrier dynamics and adsorption of target molecules. Advances in synthetic design have yielded MOFs with engineered band gaps, robust stability under irradiation and strategically placed co-catalytic sites. By forming heterojunctions with semiconductors or incorporating photosensitising units, researchers have achieved enhanced separation of photogenerated electrons and holes, leading to improved rates of solar-driven CO₂ reduction, hydrogen evolution and degradation of organic pollutants. The capacity to tailor pore environment, introduce active metal centres and optimise charge-transfer pathways underpins the global interest in MOFs as photocatalysts for sustainable energy conversion and environmental remediation.

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Photocatalytic Performance of Metal-Organic Frameworks publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in photocatalytic performance of metal-organic frameworks across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Metal-organic framework (MOF): a network of metal nodes and organic linkers forming crystalline, highly porous materials.

Photocatalysis: acceleration of a chemical reaction by light-activated catalysts that generate reactive electron-hole pairs.

Band gap: the energy difference between the valence and conduction bands in a semiconductor governing light absorption threshold.

Heterojunction: interface between two materials with differing band structures that facilitates directional charge transfer.

Charge separation: spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes to prevent recombination and enhance catalytic efficiency.

References

1. UiO-66 (Zr) metal–organic framework for photocatalytic CO 2 reduction: functional design strategies for sustainable carbon utilization. Journal of Materials Chemistry A (2025).
2. Efficient Charge Transfer of p-n Heterojunction UiO-66-NH2/CuFe2O4 Composite for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production. Catalysts (2024).
3. In-situ construction of Zr-based metal-organic framework core-shell heterostructure for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. Frontiers in Chemistry (2023).