Chapter 7: Conducting Framework Materials

Electronic conductivity in framework materials is a highly-sought after functional property, with the capacity to revolutionise a wide range of technologically- and industrially-useful fields. Examples of conducting metal-organic frameworks remain relatively limited at the present time; however enormous advances have been made over the past five years. This chapter details the latest developments in the exciting research frontier of electronically-conducting metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Central to the discussion is a series of parameters which have now emerged for materials’ design, including redox matching, donor–acceptor, mixed-valence, and π-interactions. At both the fundamental and applied levels, enormous opportunities exist if long-range electronic conductivity can be harnessed, including intimate understandings of charge transport in 3D coordination space, and potential applications across catalysis, solid-state sensing, energy storage and conversion devices, amongst numerous others.