Rational Design and Application of MOF-Based Materials for Photocatalytic CO₂ Reduction

Photocatalytic carbon dioxide (CO₂) conversion and utilization is one of the most important ways to solve the global climate and environmental problems and to reach the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Metal-organic framework (MOF)-based materials have been extensively studied for CO₂ reduction due to their special interactions with gas molecules, sufficient pore structure, abundant active sites, structural tunability, and renewability. In recent years, the potential of MOF-based materials for CO₂ conversion has been significantly enhanced with the revelation of the CO₂ adsorption mechanism and diverse functionalized modifications. In this review, a comprehensive description of the synthesis strategies of MOF-based materials is provided at first, systematically categorized into three parts that include directly modified MOFs, MOF derivatives, and MOF composites, with detailed classifications provided for each category. Subsequently, the mechanisms of photocatalytic CO₂ reduction and exploring multiple photoexcitation pathways in MOF-based systems are elucidated, unveiling the intrinsic structure-property relationships. Then, the specific recent applications of CO₂ reduction by MOF-based materials are comprehensively discussed in detail according to the classification of products.