Stable and Electrochemically "Inactive" Metal-Organic Frameworks for Electrocatalysis

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with ultrahigh surface areas and interconnected porosity have been considered as attractive materials for electrocatalysis. Numerous research efforts have thus been made to develop the "electrocatalytic MOFs". But the poor stability in water and the low electrical conductivity of most MOFs strongly limit the direct use of such electrochemically active MOFs. In this article, we aim to highlight a different concept - utilizing stable but electrochemically "inactive" MOFs for electrocatalytic reactions. Though the porous framework does not exhibit electrocatalytic activity and is electrically insulating, it could modulate the microenvironment near the underlying surface of the electrocatalyst and thus adjust the reaction rates and selectivity of the complicated electrochemical reactions. Herein, such strategies reported previously are reviewed, and the potential opportunities in future studies are discussed. Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) usually serve as the highly porous platform to incorporate a high concentration of spatially dispersed catalytically active sites for electrocatalysis. Rather than focusing on such electrocatalytic MOFs, in this article, we would like to highlight the concept of utilizing electrochemically "inactive" and "non-catalytic" MOFs to modulate the microenvironment and thus selectivity of electrocatalytic reactions.image