Progress of pristine metal-organic frameworks for electrocatalytic applications

Abstract

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising highly active electrocatalysts with well-defined structures, high porosity, and abundant redox sites. However, most of them undergo a pyrolysis treatment to form derivatives and are employed as the catalytic phase, leading to the structural collapse and loss of organic linkers. Utilizing the pristine MOFs can greatly maximize their superiority. In this review, we summarize the recent advances of pristine MOFs in the electrocatalytic HER/OER/ORR/CO₂RR process from the perspective of metal-anion and ligand-based active sites. For each electrocatalytic reaction, the tuning strategies and the effects of different active sites on electrochemical performance are discussed. Finally, the current challenges and future directions of pristine MOF-based electrocatalytic materials are outlined.