Advances in hydrophobic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for photo/electrocatalytic CO2 reduction

The construction of hydrophobic MOFs offers a promising strategy to enhance CO₂ conversion efficiency under photocatalytic and electrocatalytic conditions. Hydrophobic modification not only improves the catalytic activity of MOFs but also regulates product distribution by tailoring the local microenvironment. For instance, in aqueous systems, hydrophobic domains can suppress the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), increase the local CO₂ concentration, and stabilize key intermediates, thereby promoting the formation of CO, CH₄, and multi-carbon products. Although this strategy effectively inhibits HER, facilitates charge separation, and enhances resistance to hydrolysis, challenges remain, including limited conductivity, unclear mechanistic pathways, and insufficient mass-transfer efficiency.

Future research directions include:

Photocatalysis: Designing MOFs with both hydrophobicity and tunable electronic structures, and exploring their integration into continuous-flow reactor systems.

Electrocatalysis: Constructing gradient-wetting electrodes and composite materials to decouple CO₂ mass transfer from HER and improve the selectivity of multi-carbon products.

Biocatalysis: Employing hydrophobic MOFs to encapsulate enzymes or biomimetic catalysts, thereby enhancing stability and substrate enrichment.

Material development: Leveraging machine learning and high-throughput simulations to design high-performance hydrophobic ligands and pore environments, while expanding MOF systems to include single-atom catalysts, non-metallic active sites, and bifunctional materials to unlock new reaction pathways.

Overall, the advancement of hydrophobic MOFs will rely on the synergistic optimization of catalytic performance and structural stability. By integrating hydrophobic design, active-site engineering, and system-level innovation, these materials are expected to play a pivotal role in CO₂ resource utilization and carbon-neutral energy technologies.

About Nano Research

Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 7,000 articles. In 2024 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2024 IF is 9.0 (8.7, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.