This paper describes a novel synthetic approach for the conversion of zero-valent copper metal into a conductive two-dimensional layered metal-organic framework (MOF) based on 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene (HHTP) to form Cu₃(HHTP)₂. This process enables patterning of Cu₃(HHTP)₂ onto a variety of flexible and porous woven (cotton, silk, nylon, nylon/cotton blend, and polyester) and non-woven (weighing paper and filter paper) substrates with microscale spatial resolution. The method produces conductive textiles with sheet resistances of 0.1-10.1 MΩ/cm², depending on the substrate, and uniform conformal coatings of MOFs on textile swatches with strong interfacial contact capable of withstanding chemical and physical stresses, such as detergent washes and abrasion. These conductive textiles enable simultaneous detection and detoxification of nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide, achieving part per million limits of detection in dry and humid conditions. The Cu₃(HHTP)₂ MOF also demonstrated filtration capabilities of H₂S, with uptake capacity up to 4.6 mol/kg_MOF. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy show that the detection of NO and H₂S with Cu₃(HHTP)₂ is accompanied by the transformation of these species to less toxic forms, such as nitrite and/or nitrate and copper sulfide and S_x species, respectively. These results pave the way for using conductive MOFs to construct extremely robust electronic textiles with multifunctional performance characteristics.

Today sustainable and clean energy conversion strategies are based on sunlight and the use of water as a source of protons and electrons, in a similar manner as it happens in Photosystem II. To achieve this, the charge separation state induced by light has to be capable of oxidising water by 4 protons and 4 electrons and generating molecular oxygen. This oxidation occurs by the intermediacy of a catalyst capable of finding low-energy pathways via proton-coupled electron transfer steps. The high energy involved in the thermodynamics of water oxidation reaction, coupled with its mechanistic complexity, is responsible for the difficulty of discovering efficient and oxidatively robust molecules capable of achieving such a challenging task. A significant number of Ru coordination complexes have been identified as water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) and are among the best understood from a mechanistic perspective. In this review, we describe the catalytic performance of these complexes and focus our attention on the factors that influence their performance during catalysis, especially in cases where a detailed mechanistic investigation has been carried out. The collective information extracted from all the catalysts studied allows one to identify the key features that govern the complex chemistry associated with the catalytic water oxidation reaction. This includes the stability of trans-O–Ru–O groups, the change in coordination number from CN6 to CN7 at Ru high oxidation states, the ligand flexibility, the capacity to undergo intramolecular proton transfer, the bond strain, the axial ligand substitution, and supramolecular effects. Overall, combining all this information generates a coherent view of this complex chemistry.