Room temperature photochemical synthesis of metal-organic frameworks for enhanced photocatalysis.

Wang, Yong; Guan, Jingzhuo; Kumar, Kush; He, Wanting; Valdez, Jesus; Yang, Ruiqi; Hu, Guoping; Huang, Shengyun et al. · Nat Commun · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The function of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is fundamentally governed by their synthesis precision. Here, we report a light-driven strategy enabling ambient-temperature MOFs synthesis (15 °C, 4 hours) for cobalt-porphyrin frameworks (phoPPF-3), overcoming traditional thermal constraints. This approach achieves multidimensional control, manifested in two-dimensional hourglass morphologies and selective Co<sup>2</sup>⁺-carboxylate coordination that preserves free-base porphyrin cores unattainable conventionally. Resulting phoPPF-3 exhibits enhanced thermal stability and higher photocatalytic activity in benzyl alcohol oxidation and H<sub>2</sub> evolution comparing to solvothermal analogues. The methodology demonstrates a certain generality through successful extension to other MOFs. This work marks the demonstration of using photons to initiate and guide MOFs synthesis and establishes a sustainable approach for atomically precise MOFs engineering via photochemical control.