Owing to their outstanding structural, chemical, and functional diversity, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted considerable attention over the last two decades in a variety of energy-related applications. Notably missing among these, until recently, were applications that required good charge transport coexisting with porosity and high surface area. Although most MOFs are electrical insulators, several materials in this class have recently demonstrated excellent electrical conductivity and high charge mobility. Herein we review the synthetic and electronic design strategies that have been employed thus far for producing frameworks with permanent porosity and long-range charge transport properties. In addition, key experiments that have been employed to demonstrate electrical transport, as well as selected applications for this subclass of MOFs, will be discussed.

Reaction of 2,3,6,7,10, in aqueous NH 3 solution under aerobic conditions produces Ni 3 (HITP) 2 (HITP = 2,3,6,7,10,, a new two-dimensional metal−organic framework (MOF). The new material can be isolated as a highly conductive black powder or dark blue-violet films. Two-probe and van der Pauw electrical measurements reveal bulk (pellet) and surface (film) conductivity values of 2 and 40 S•cm −1 , respectively, both records for MOFs and among the best for any coordination polymer.

Control over the architectural and electronic properties of heterogeneous catalysts poses a major obstacle in the targeted design of active and stable non-platinum group metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction. Here we introduce Ni3(HITP)2 (HITP=2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11-hexaiminotriphenylene) as an intrinsically conductive metal-organic framework which functions as a well-defined, tunable oxygen reduction electrocatalyst in alkaline solution. Ni3(HITP)2 exhibits oxygen reduction activity competitive with the most active non-platinum group metal electrocatalysts and stability during extended polarization. The square planar Ni-N4 sites are structurally reminiscent of the highly active and widely studied non-platinum group metal electrocatalysts containing M-N4 units. Ni3(HITP)2 and analogues thereof combine the high crystallinity of metal-organic frameworks, the physical durability and electrical conductivity of graphitic materials, and the diverse yet well-controlled synthetic accessibility of molecular species. Such properties may enable the targeted synthesis and systematic optimization of oxygen reduction electrocatalysts as components of fuel cells and electrolysers for renewable energy applications.

Isostructural metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) M2(TTFTB) (M = Mn, Co, Zn, and Cd; H4TTFTB = tetrathiafulvalene tetrabenzoate) exhibit a striking correlation between their single-crystal conductivities and the shortest S···S interaction defined by neighboring TTF cores, which inversely correlates with the ionic radius of the metal ions. The larger cations cause a pinching of the S···S contact, which is responsible for better orbital overlap between pz orbitals on neighboring S and C atoms. Density functional theory calculations show that these orbitals are critically involved in the valence band of these materials, such that modulation of the S···S distance has an important effect on band dispersion and, implicitly, on the conductivity. The Cd analogue, with the largest cation and shortest S···S contact, shows the largest electrical conductivity, σ = 2.86 (±0.53) × 10(-4) S/cm, which is also among the highest in microporous MOFs. These results describe the first demonstration of tunable intrinsic electrical conductivity in this class of materials and serve as a blueprint for controlling charge transport in MOFs with π-stacked motifs.

The two-dimensionally connected metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) Ni(HIB) and Cu(HIB) (HIB = hexaiminobenzene) are bulk electrical conductors and exhibit ultraviolet-photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) signatures expected of metallic solids. Electronic band structure calculations confirm that in both materials the Fermi energy lies in a partially filled delocalized band. Together with additional structural characterization and microscopy data, these results represent the first report of metallic behavior and permanent porosity coexisting within a metal-organic framework.