Surface-coordinated metal-organic framework thin films (SURMOFs): From fabrication to energy applications

The development of clean and sustainable energy is crucial to solve the increasingly serious energy crisis. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) containing both inorganic and organic components have attracted extensive attention on energy applications because of their tunable structures and fascinating properties. Particularly, liquid-phase epitaxial (LPE) layer by layer (LBL) growth of MOFs thin films on various substrates surfaces (called SURMOFs, surface-coordinated MOF thin films) possess the advantages of controlled thickness, preferred growth orientation and homogeneous film, which provide ideal candidates for energy storage and conversion. In this review, we summarize the fabrication strategies of SURMOFs including the layer by layer dipping, pump, spray, spin-coating and flowing methods, the classification and advantages of SURMOFs, and then discuss the related energy applications of SURMOFs, encapsulated SURMOFs, and SURMOF-derivative on electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and solar cells etc.