Surfactant-metal-organic framework complexes and their derivatives: advances in electrocatalysis

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and their derivatives received more and more attention due to the diverse morphologies, rich porous structures, and tunable metal active sites, which have been widely used in energy-related electrocatalytic reactions. Surfactants, a class of compounds with hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions in the molecular structure, are able to modulate the properties of liquid and solid surfaces. Surfactants play a crucial role in controlling the shape and size of MOFs, which helps optimize electrocatalytic performance, especially in improving the exposure and accessibility of catalytic active sites. In this review, we first outline the types and applications of surfactants. Second, we describe the interface modulation and reaction mechanism of different surfactants during the forming of MOFs and their derivatives. Finally, we discuss the current applications of surfactant-modified MOFs and their derivatives in electrocatalysis. This review provides a better understanding of surfactant-assistant structure regulation and electrocatalytic activity study of MOFs and their derivatives.