The colloquium will also be streamed online.
Prof. Dominik Eder, TU Wien
Invited by PD Dr. Evelyn Plötz, Prof. Achim Hartschuh and Prof. Emiliano Cortés
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) offer a versatile platform to design well-defined catalytic sites for solar-driven and electrochemical energy conversion. In this talk, I will focus on three recent directions from our group, moving from electrocatalytic single-atom sites to photoactive secondary building units and nitrogen fixation.
First, I will discuss current limitations of MOFs in photo/electrocatalysis. I will provide some generalizable mechanistic information obtained from MIL-125 for photocatalytic hydrogen production [1]. Then, I will detail how the dimensionality of Ti-based secondary building units affects the lifetime of photochemically generated charge carriers. By comparing TUW-11, MIL-125, MIL-47, and COK-47 [2], I will highlight how isolated Ti centers, Ti-oxo clusters, 1D chains, and 2D Ti-SBU arrangements influence charge separation, transport, and extraction to adsorbed reactants. TUW-11 is a newly developed ellagate-based Ti-MOF that combines monometallic Ti4+ centers with a layered framework, visible-light absorption, p-type behavior, and photocatalytic activity, providing a useful reference point for understanding dimensionality effects in Ti-MOF photochemistry [3].
Second, I will discuss the design of single atom sites in zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) for electrocatalytic hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. Mixed-linker strategies [4] and controlled generation of open-metal sites through the SELIRE process [5] improve water stability, conductivity, and catalytic activity under electrochemical and photoelectrochemical conditions, while also allowing us to identify how these sites influence the rate-limiting steps in HER and OER [6]. Finally, if time permits, I will present Fe-based MOFs as promising platforms for solar ammonia production [7].
References
[1] Wang et al, Appl. Catal. B: Environ. 2021, 283, 119626
[2] Ayala et al., Adv. Ener. Mater., 2023, 2370133
[3] Ayala et al., 2026, in revision
[4] Zheao et al., Nat. Commun. 2024, 15,1
[5] Naghdi et al., Nat. Commun. 2022, 13, 282.; Zheao et a.. Small, 2024, 20, 2307981
[6] Zheao et al., Angew. Chem. 2025, 64(7), e202419913.
[7] Bischoff et al., JACS, 2026, in press