Understanding the opportunities of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) for CO2 capture and gas-phase CO2 conversion processes: a comprehensive overview

The rapid increase in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide is one of the most pressing problems facing our planet. This challenge has motivated the development of different strategies not only in the reduction of CO2 concentrations via green energy alternatives but also in the capture and conversion of CO2 into value-added products. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a relatively new class of porous materials with unique structural characteristics such as high surface areas, chemical tunability and stability, and have been extensively studied as promising materials to address this challenge. This comprehensive review identifies the specific structural and chemical properties of MOFs that result in advanced CO2 capture capacities and fairly encouraging catalytic CO2 conversion behaviour. More importantly, we describe an interconnection among the unique properties of MOFs and the engineering aspects of these intriguing materials towards CO2 capture and conversion processes.