The growing demand for clean and sustainable energy has accelerated the development of efficient electrocatalysts for water splitting and hydrogen production. The bimetallic metal-organic framework (BM-MOF) has emerged as promising electrocatalysts due to its tunable composition, synergistic bimetallic interactions, high surface area, abundant active sites, and structural versatility. Furthermore, materials derived from BM-MOFs such as metal phosphides, sulfurides, oxides, and metallic nanoparticles had excellent electrical conductivity, catalytic activity, and durability properties, which excellent properties make them attractive for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and overall water splitting (OWS). This review comprehensively summarises recent progress (2020-2026) in the design, synthesis, and electrocatalytic applications of BM-MOF and its derived composites for OER, HER, and OWS. Various fabrication methods, including solvothermal/hydrothermal, co-precipitation, and post-synthetic modifications, are discussed. The performance of BM-MOF supported on conductive substrates such as nickel foam, graphene oxide, and carbon nanotubes is critically examined. Importantly, this review provides an updated and focused perspective on recent advances in BM-MOFs and BM-MOF-derived composite electrocatalysts for OWS, with particular emphasis on developments reported during 2020–2026. This review systematically discusses catalyst design, synthesis strategies, structure–performance relationships, and electrocatalytic performance, while highlighting emerging trends and future research opportunities. Finally, future opportunities in green synthesis, scalable production, and AI-assisted catalyst design for sustainable hydrogen production are highlighted.
Resistant bacteria and their biofilms reduce the efficacy of conventional antibiotic therapies. To address this, a nanoplatform consisting of silver nanoparticles coated with chitosan and dual-loaded with thymol and luteolin (AgNPs@CS-TH-LU) was prepared and evaluated through in vitro and in vivo assays. The nanocomposite showed a well-dispersed spherical morphology with an average particle size of 69 nm and a zeta potential of +38 mV in deionized water. Well diffusion assays showed inhibition zones of ∼28 mm against S. aureus, E. coli, S. agalactiae, and P. aeruginosa, with MIC values as low as ∼0.30 μg mL−1 (total nanocomposite concentration) and ∼ 98% biofilm inhibition. The release profile was prolonged and pH-responsive over 24 h. Hemolysis was low ∼2.33% at 400 μg mL−1 under the tested conditions. In mice, AgNPs@CS-TH-LU showed reduced toxicity compared with bare AgNPs, with liver enzymes and organ weights close to control values, and in vivo wound-healing trials exhibited complete wound closure in 11 days with enhanced collagen deposition. These findings suggest AgNPs@CS-TH-LU is a promising nanocomposite with enhanced antibacterial activity, reduced toxicity relative to bare AgNPs, and accelerated wound healing in mice under the tested conditions.
The ability of copper and functionalized copper QDs to act as nanozymes by mimicking ascorbate oxidase was investigated. The Cu QDs were surface-modified with thiolate-β-cyclodextrin (SH-β-CD) to enhance their stability, catalytic efficiency, and substrate interactions. The SH-β-CD@Cu QDs were characterized using XRD, TEM, XPS, IR, Raman, UV–Visible spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. UV–Vis. titration was performed to assess the catalytic activity of the complexes toward ascorbic acid in the dehydroascorbic acid via redox reactions. The catalytic activity followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the Michaelis-Menten kinetics indicated oxidase-like activity. The apparent activation energy was 58.17 kJ/mol, as determined from the Arrhenius plots of the SH-β-CD@Cu QDs. It also exhibited higher reaction rates Vmax of 1.02 × 10−5 M min−1 and good affinity Kmof 1.26 × 10−4 M with ascorbic acid. Surface modification of Cu QDs increases the electroactive surface area, resulting in enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward ascorbic acid. Moreover, the quantum-chemical parameters were calculated using B3LYP/def2-SVP in ORCA.
The electrooxidation of urea offers a promising reaction for wastewater remediation and energy-efficient electrochemical conversion, but its commercialization requires active, stable, and inexpensive anode materials. In this work, a selenium-containing dicarboxylate linker, 2,2′-diselanedibenzoic acid (H2Se2DBA), was prepared via a Sandmeyer diazotization–selenation procedure. H2Se2DBA was subsequently used for the synthesis of Co(II)- and Ni(II)-diselenidibenzoate coordination materials and evaluated as electrocatalysts for urea oxidation in alkaline medium. Both materials were characterized via different methods, and the results indicate the formation of hierarchical assemblies of interconnected nanoparticles with characteristic sizes of 40–150 nm. Spectroscopic analysis confirmed the coordination of deprotonated carboxylate groups to the metal centers while preserving the aromatic diselenide backbone. Co-MOF exhibited greater crystallinity, whereas Ni-MOF showed lower crystallinity. For thermal analysis, both frameworks had more than 80% of their initial mass up to 340 °C, which confirms sufficient thermal robustness. Electrochemical measurements indicate a difference in the electrocatalytic activity of the prepared Co-MOF and Ni-MOF, although both were prepared by the same framework and method. This difference is due to the use of transition metals: Co or Ni. In urea solution, the electrooxidation current of 31.83 mA is found in the case of Ni-MOF, which is higher than that of Co-MOF (9.232 mA). Electrochemical impedance analysis showed that the two charge-transfer resistance components of Ni-MOF decreased from 1796 and 1280 Ω to 104.1 and 473.2 Ω, respectively, because of urea addition. This improvement can be attributed to the electrochemical activation of nickel centers and their ability to generate highly reactive Ni(III) oxyhydroxide species. These findings demonstrate how metal-center selection within the coordination framework controls structural and catalytic performance.
Previous studies have shown that [FeFe] models can effectively drive visible-light-induced hydrogen evolution. However, further improvement of their photocatalytic performance remains challenging. In this work, a graphene oxide-supported [FeFe] photocatalyst, GO@P[FeFe], was constructed through a phosphine-ligand anchoring strategy. We first modified graphene oxide (GO) with 2-(diphenylphosphino)ethyltriethoxysilane to load phosphine anchoring sites on the GO surface. Then, [FeFe] units were immobilized on GO through ligand substitution with [(μ-pdt)Fe2(CO)6]. The structure of GO@P[FeFe] was characterized by FTIR, ICP-MS, TG, TEM, and related techniques. The photocatalytic hydrogen-evolution performance of different catalytic systems was systematically investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the GO@P[FeFe]-based system achieved a maximum TON of 1669 after 1 h of irradiation. Under periodic replenishment of 2 mg of TDPN every 7 h, the GO@P[FeFe] system produced approximately 2450 μmol of H2 (TON = 4826) after 28 h of irradiation, with slight hydrogen-evolution activity still observed at the end of the test. Further studies showed that physically mixed GO and rGO also improved the photocatalytic performance of [FeFe]. The ligand-anchored GO@P[FeFe] system showed the best performance. This work provides a feasible strategy for constructing visible-light-driven biomimetic photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution.
