Publication date: 22nd July 2026
The electrocatalytic conversion of CO₂ into value-added fuels and chemicals is a sustainable route to recycle carbon emissions and store renewable energy.[1] Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are appealing for this reaction owing to their porosity, tuneable chemistry, and high density of accessible metal sites, which can be tailored across a wide range of metals and linkers.[2]
Here we explore a diverse set of MOFs as electrode materials for CO₂ conversion, including MOF-74 (M = Ni, Mg, Co, Cu), UiO-66, HKUST-1 and Cu-adenine, covering different metals, linkers and stabilities. Depending on the framework, the MOFs are used either in their pristine form or as composites incorporating conductive components to improve charge transport and stability. In all cases, the materials are deposited on carbon matrices by electrophoretic deposition and spin coating, and characterised by PXRD, N₂ adsorption, FTIR-ATR, SEM and cyclic voltammetry.
The electrodes are evaluated for two reaction pathways: the direct electroreduction of CO₂ to value-added products and the electrocarboxylation of organic substrates to carboxylic acids. Performance is assessed by controlled-potential/current electrolysis, with products quantified by gas chromatography with thermal conductivity detector and 1H NMR to determine activity, selectivity, Faradaic efficiency and stability. This comparative study links MOF composition and electrode design to catalytic behaviour, guiding the development of efficient materials for CO₂ valorisation.
Centro de Química Estrutural is a Research Unit funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia through projects UID/00100/2025 (10.54499/UID/00100/2025) and UID/PRR/00100/2025 (10.54499/UID/PRR/00100/2025). Institute of Molecular Sciences is an Associate Laboratory funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia through project LA/P/0056/2020 (10.54499/LA/P/0056/2020). AHM thanks for his scholarship under the project 2024.06795.RESTART. S.R. thanks FCT for the
contract 2020.02134.CEECIND: 10.54499/2020.02134.CEECIND/CP1605/CT0002 and for the project 2024.06795.RESTART.
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