Recent advances on synthesis and photocatalytic applications of MOF-derived carbon materials: A review

Owing to their exceptional advantages, MOF-derived carbon materials (MDCMs) have gained a great interest as promising nanomaterials for environmental and energy photocatalytic applications. Numerous research activities were stimulated accordingly which focused mainly on the properties, synthesis, classifications, structural modulation and applications of their based materials as potential photocatalysts. All these aspects were comprehensively covered and critically discussed in this review in a way that has not been presented previously. Initially, the review outlines the main fundamentals of the photocatalysis process through the utilization of MDCMs. Then, the main properties and characteristics of MDCMs are highlighted. Furthermore, the recent advances in the synthesis approaches and the structural modulation of MDCMs are discussed in depth. Moreover, the main applications of MDCMs including photocatalytic CO₂ reduction, H₂ production and degradation of pollutants are summarized, considering only the recent studies reported in the past decade. Eventually, the conclusions and future recommendations for the usage of MDCMs in the fields of energy and environmental remediation are presented.