Recent Advances in the Development of Metal–Organic Frameworks-based Photocatalysts for Water Splitting and CO2 Reduction

Abstract

The rapid increase in the worldwide population and agro-industrial activities have led to substantial environmental pollution and energy crises in recent decades. The scientific community has given dramatic attention to developing green technologies for production processing and environmental remediation by using natural resources to solve such issues and to provide a better future for our planet. Photocatalysis technologies have been proven to be green alternatives for many applications, including environmental remediation and energy production. Indeed, the engineering of photocatalytic materials with enhanced ability has received the most attention from the scientific community. In recent years, many efforts have been made to develop and modify novel materials based on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), having excellent stability, high porosity and light absorption, as ideal materials for adsorption, catalysis, and photocatalytic processes. This chapter summarizes and critically discusses approaches towards modifying MOFs-based photocatalysts for enhanced photocatalytic activities such as coupling with inorganic semiconductors, carbon materials, and dye-photosensitizers. Recent advances in using MOFs-based photocatalysts for CO2 reduction into different valuable products and H2 generation through photocatalytic and electrophotocatalytic methods are reviewed.