Recent Advances in Metal-Organic Frameworks and Their Derived Materials for Electrocatalytic Water Splitting

Highly efficient electrocatalysts play important roles in electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen production, including the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystalline materials, exhibiting strong potential as precursors for obtaining outstanding electrocatalysts. MOF-based electrocatalysts, including MOFs and MOF-derived electrocatalysts, have become an increasingly important part of catalysts in the field of electrochemical water splitting, but their catalytic performance, especially their activity and stability, still have a lot of room for improvement. In this paper, the preparation strategy of MOF-based electrocatalysts and improvement methods of catalytic properties were reviewed, including morphology-controlled methods and composition-controlled methods. We also focused on the structure-property relationships, which determine the electrocatalytic activity for water splitting reactions. Finally, the challenges and development prospects were discussed for the MOF-based electrocatalysts, which might provide some insight for future applications in electrochemical water splitting.