Conductive Metal-Organic Frameworks: Emerging Strategies for High-Performance Energy Storage

Abstract

Conductive metal-organic frameworks (c-MOFs) have emerged as a distinctive class of crystalline, electronically active materials that bridge molecular design with electrochemical energy-storage functionality. Their significance is underscored by the recent Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognizing pioneering advances in MOF chemistry, which highlights the transformative impact of reticular design on modern materials science. Unlike conventional MOFs, whose insulating coordination bonds limit charge transport, c-MOFs integrate extended π-d conjugation, redox-active metal nodes, and permanent porosity to enable simultaneous electronic and ionic transport within an ordered framework. This review critically examines the fundamental charge-transport mechanisms governing c-MOFs-including through-bond, through-space, mixed-valence, and guest-mediated pathways-and elucidates how coordination geometry, defect chemistry, pore topology, and interfacial structure collectively regulate charge mobility and redox accessibility. By systematically linking these structure-property relationships to device-level behavior, we compare the performance of c-MOFs across lithium-, sodium-, and potassium-ion batteries, metal-air systems, supercapacitors, and redox-flow batteries, while clarifying their advantages and intrinsic limitations relative to carbons, metal oxides, conducting polymers, and perovskites. Particular emphasis is placed on identifying which conduction mechanisms and framework architectures remain most effective under practical operating conditions, including high areal loading, extended cycling, and commercial electrolytes. Beyond summarizing recent advances, this review provides a critical perspective on unresolved challenges-such as durability, scalable synthesis, and interfacial compatibility-and outlines emerging strategies, including hierarchical pore engineering, hybrid MOF-based architectures, data-driven materials discovery, and chemistry-conserving scale-up routes, that define concrete pathways toward deployable energy-storage technologies.