Recent progress on the synthesis of defective UiO-66 for thermal catalysis

Zirconium terephthalate UiO-66 has aroused great interest in catalysis since it exhibits significant flexibility and compatibility for accommodating a high number of defects as well as exceptional thermal and chemical stability. Until now, many works have focused on the modulations of the Zr₆-oxo clusters in UiO-66 in terms of diverse synthesis, advanced characterizations, and their catalytic applications. To achieve high catalytic efficiency, it is still highly desired for rationally constructing and modulating the Zr₆-oxo clusters with exposed catalytic sites and diverse microenvironments for advanced catalysis. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of recent progress on the synthesis of defective UiO-66, qualitative and quantitative characterizations, as well as a logical overview of heterogeneous catalytic applications over the past few years. Finally, the outlooks for the research paradigm of defective UiO-66 are discussed.