Metal–organic frameworks: preparation and applications in highly efficient heterogeneous photocatalysis

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) attract considerable attention due to tunable structures, tailorable functionalities, and replaceable metal centers, leading to comprehensive applications, such as semiconductors, catalysts, and photocatalysts. Herein, basic concepts and overall synthetic technologies of MOF materials are introduced, such as solvothermal, hydrothermal, microwave-assisted, sonochemical, mechanochemical, and electrochemical methods. MOFs can provide an orderly porous structure, which will contribute to the high exposure of active sites and hence promote the photocatalytic performance efficiently. In this paper, the applications of MOFs for photocatalytic reactions, mainly in photocatalytic hydrogen production, and other possible utilizations, including CO2 reduction, oxidative degradation, and organic transformations, are summarized. We give a concise review of recent progress in MOF materials for photocatalysis. A summary and prospect for MOFs in photocatalysis are also highlighted.