Photoresponsive Metal-Organic Frameworks: Tailorable Platforms of Photoswitches for Advanced Functions

Stimuli-responsive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted great interest in a diverse range of applications due to their abilities to change attributes under external stimuli. As a ubiquitous stimulus, light can be remotely controlled and quickly switched. Hence, the exploration of photoresponsive materials has attracted widespread interest. In particular, photoresponsive MOFs are usually formed by inserting photoswitchable linkers of different properties within the MOF backbone. Under the action of light, some physical and/or chemical changes will occur, resulting in a series of structural and morphological changes, in turn producing specific functions in different MOF materials. In this review, we will highlight some representative examples to demonstrate the recent advances in the development of photoresponsive MOF-based materials. The main types of molecular photoswitches, their properties and the main applications of photoresponsive MOFs will also be covered, followed by a discussion on the future development of the field.