Photocatalytic Strategies Using Metal-Organic Frameworks

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have risen to prominence as photocatalytic materials owing to their modular architecture, high porosity and tunable electronic properties. By combining metal nodes with organic linkers, researchers can engineer band gaps, introduce active sites and control mass transport, enabling selective light-driven transformations. Key strategies include the construction of heterojunctions with semiconductors to promote charge separation, functional group modification to extend visible-light absorption and incorporation of co-catalysts to accelerate surface reactions. These approaches have delivered significant advances in carbon dioxide reduction, water splitting for hydrogen evolution and degradation of organic contaminants, demonstrating the global potential of MOF-based photocatalysts for renewable energy conversion and environmental remediation.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated that intimate integration of MOFs with semiconductor materials can dramatically enhance photocatalytic performance. A seminal example involves a heterojunction between platelet-like BiVO4 and the titanium-based MOF MIL-125(Ti). Precise control of morphology and interfacial alignment yielded a positive shift in the valence-band position and suppressed electron–hole recombination. The resulting composite displayed markedly improved photooxidation of organic substrates under visible illumination, underscoring the importance of facet engineering and n–n junction formation in maximising interfacial charge shuttle and overall catalytic efficiency.

Photocatalytic Strategies Using Metal-Organic Frameworks publication trend

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

Technical terms

Metal–organic framework (MOF): A porous crystalline material composed of metal ions or clusters linked by organic ligands, offering high surface area and adjustable electronic properties.

Heterojunction: An interface between two semiconductor materials with differing band structures, designed to facilitate directional charge separation and transfer.

Band bending: The variation in energy levels at a semiconductor interface that generates an internal electric field, influencing carrier migration.

Charge separation: The spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes to prevent recombination and extend their lifetimes for surface reactions.

Photoreduction: A light-driven reaction in which electrons reduce a substrate, such as CO2, to form value-added chemicals.

Photoinduced carriers: Electrons and holes generated upon light absorption that participate in redox reactions at a catalyst’s surface.

References

1. A composite of platelet-like orientated BiVO4 fused with MIL-125(Ti): Synthesis and characterization. Scientific Reports (2019).
2. The Research on the Construction and the Photocatalytic Performance of BiOI/NH2-MIL-125(Ti) Composite. Catalysts (2020).
3. Effect of Band Bending in Photoactive MOF-Based Heterojunctions. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2022).