Metal-organic framework-derived diatomic catalysts for environmental remediation: Synthesis, applications and improvement strategies

Diatomic catalysts (DACs) have received considerable attention in environmental remediation, while the synthesis of DACs with excellent physicochemical properties (e.g., stability, available metal sites, and uniform distribution of metal atom) is highly desired and challenging. Currently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are regarded as attractive platforms to construct DACs due to their unique merits, including high surface area , well-defined porous structure, functional adjustability. Herein, the recent advances of MOF-derived DACs for environmental remediation are reviewed. Firstly, various fabrication strategies and corresponding synthetic mechanisms of MOF-derived DACs are systematically summarized. Secondly, the diverse environmental applications of MOF-derived DACs are introduced, such as persulfate activation, electro-Fenton, electro-reduction and photocatalysis . Thirdly, the primary strategies to optimize the electronic structure of metal sites are highlighted to improve the catalytic performance of MOF-derived DACs, including central metal modulation, coordination environment regulation and carbon support modification. Finally, insights into the current limitations and further prospects in this field are also discussed. • The fabrication strategies of MOF-derived DACs are summarized. • MOF-derived DACs for diverse environmental applications and their corresponding mechanisms are discussed. • An overview of the primary strategies to improve the performance of MOF-derived DACs. • The challenges related to MOF-derived DACs for environmental remediation are proposed.