Synergistic hybrid systems of 2D-MOFs and TMDs for advanced energy harvesting

8review sections

5material families

15review claims

13secondary benchmarks

16cited studies

8research gaps

Review scope

Review of 2D-MOF/TMD hybrid systems for energy harvesting, linking material complementarity, interface engineering, defect and band-alignment mechanisms, synthesis routes, device metrics, durability caveats, and commercialisation barriers.

Coverage: 2010–2026
Category: Review Thermoelectric
Material scope: 2D metal-organic frameworks · transition metal dichalcogenides · 2D-MOF/TMD hybrids · MOF/TMD/carbon or graphene composites · TMD and MOF materials used in thermoelectric, photovoltaic, piezoelectric, triboelectric and electrochemical energy devices
Transport scope: interfacial charge transfer · band alignment · recombination suppression · ionic transport through pores · electrical and thermal conductivity · phonon scattering and thermoelectric ZT · piezoelectric and triboelectric charge generation

Application scope: photovoltaics · thermoelectric energy conversion · piezoelectric nanogenerators · triboelectric nanogenerators · supercapacitors and battery-supercapacitor hybrids · photocatalytic hydrogen evolution
Explicit exclusions: Primary extraction of recipes · Exhaustive bibliography transcription · Non-2D energy materials except as device or synthesis context
Source: 1 · Abstract
Evidence role: Context, taxonomy and secondary benchmarking

Section map

The review’s argument is preserved as a navigable set of section summaries.

Energy harvesting applications

16-20

Applies the interface mechanisms to photovoltaics, thermoelectrics, piezoelectrics, triboelectrics, and comparative hybrid-performance metrics.

Relevance: Core · 16 · 4. Energy harvesting applications

Challenges and limitations

25-27

Identifies scale-up, cost, yield, defect control, batch reproducibility, environmental stability, and device compatibility as barriers to practical deployment.

Relevance: Core · 25 · 6. Challenges and limitations

Conclusion

Concludes that hybridisation offsets MOF conductivity limits and TMD stability/scalability challenges, but practical deployment needs scalable, reproducible, stable devices.

Relevance: Supporting · 29 · 8. Conclusion

Fabrication and characterization techniques

21-25

Reviews solvothermal, hydrothermal, layer-by-layer, CVD, MOCVD, ALD, exfoliation, and multi-technique characterization methods needed to form and verify MOF-TMD interfaces.

Relevance: Supporting · 21 · 5. Fabrication and characterization techniques

Fundamentals of 2D materials

3-12

Defines 2D-MOF and TMD structures, properties, synthesis/functionality links, pore and electrolyte caveats, TMD phases, layer dependence, and a comparative property table.

Relevance: Core · 8 · 2.3. Transition metal dichalcogenides

Future prospects and opportunities

27-29

Outlines emerging synthesis trends, interfacial chemical design, ML/DFT-guided screening, multi-stressor durability protocols, and fully packaged device gaps.

Relevance: Core · 28 · 7.1.3. Critical research gaps limiting translation and reliability

Introduction

1-3

Frames renewable-energy motivations, complementary strengths and weaknesses of 2D-MOFs and TMDs, and the review's interface-to-device contribution relative to earlier surveys.

Relevance: Core · 3 · 1. Introduction · Table 1

Synergy between 2D-MOFs and TMDs

12-16

Develops the review's central mechanism: hybrid interfaces combine MOF porosity and active sites with TMD conductivity, edge states, and light absorption to improve charge separation, catalysis, and stability.

Relevance: Core · 13 · 3.2. Mechanisms of synergy in energy harvesting · Fig. 10

Taxonomies

Classification systems are attributed to this review and are not treated as a global material registry.

Application DomainAuthor-proposed

Energy harvesting application map

Figures 1 and 20 organise 2D-MOF/TMD hybrids by multifunctional activity and future application domains rather than by a single device class.

Categories: energy production · interconversion · harvesting · solar cells · photocatalysis · wearable electronics · thermoelectric generator

29 · 7.3. Future applications in energy harvesting · Fig. 20

Characterization FunctionAuthor-proposed

Interface characterization toolkit

The characterization section links structural, chemical, optical, and dynamic probes to verifying synthesis, interface quality, charge transfer, and stability.

Categories: XRD/GIXRD · SEM/FESEM/EDS · Raman and 2D-IR · TEM/STEM/SAED · XPS · AFM/PFM · sorption · UV-vis/photoluminescence · time-resolved spectroscopy

24 · 5.2.4. Other key methods

Descriptor-To-Device TranslationAuthor-proposed

Material descriptors to device figures of merit

Table 4 maps commonly measured materials descriptors to device-level FoMs and operational stress endpoints, useful for structuring Chapter 1 evidence around comparable mechanisms.

Categories: band alignment/interface quality · MOF stability as encapsulant · BET surface area and pore structure · pore hierarchy · hybrid device assembly · thermoelectric descriptors · piezoelectric descriptors · triboelectric descriptors · environmental durability

15 · Table 4

Material-Family PropertyAuthor-proposed

2D-MOF versus TMD property comparison

Table 3 contrasts porous metal-ligand 2D-MOFs with van der Waals layered TMDs, making complementarity the basis for hybrid design.

Categories: structure · electronic properties · magnetic properties · thermal properties · mechanical properties · catalytic properties · gas sensing · energy storage

12 · 2.4. Key differences between 2D-MOFs and TMDs · Table 3

Transport And Catalytic MechanismAuthor-proposed

Three interfacial synergy mechanisms

The review explicitly decomposes hybrid performance into band alignment, charge-transfer kinetics, and defect-assisted active-site generation at the heterojunction.

Categories: type-II band alignment-driven charge separation · interfacial orbital hybridization and charge transfer kinetics · defect-mediated catalytic site generation

13 · 3.2. Mechanisms of synergy in energy harvesting

TMD Thin-Film ProcessingAuthor-proposed

CVD route comparison

Table 6 groups vapour-phase deposition methods by benefits and limitations, especially temperature, uniformity, scale-up, and thickness-control trade-offs.

Categories: thermal CVD · plasma-enhanced CVD · atomic layer deposition · metal-organic CVD

22 · 5.1.2. CVD and other methods for TMDs · Table 6

Material families

Review-defined families retain their representative materials and conduction descriptions.

Two-dimensional metal-organic frameworks

Two-Dimensional Porous Coordination Networks Or Nanosheets

Atomically thin or layered metal-ligand frameworks with tunable pores, high surface area, and modifiable metal nodes/linkers.

Conduction: Porosity aids ion transport; pi-conjugation and metal-linker interactions can support charge delocalisation, but intrinsic conductivity is often a limitation.

Representative materials: Cu3(HHTP)2 · Ni-MOF · Cu-MOF · Zn-MOF · MOF-5 · 2DNiGA

Nodes / linkers: Cu · Ni · Co · Zn · Fe · HHTP/HHTATP-type conjugated ligands · BTC/BDC-type ligands · TCPP-Pt · graphene carboxyl groups in hybrids

4 · 2.2. Two-dimensional metal-organic frameworks

Thermoelectric MOFs and guest-loaded MOFs

Porous MOF Frameworks And Semiconducting 2D MOFs

Porous MOFs whose low thermal conductivity and tunable electronic structure are considered for thermoelectric conversion, often requiring guest or dopant conductivity enhancement.

Conduction: MOFs can lower thermal conductivity through porosity and organic-inorganic hybrid structure, but conductivity gains may raise thermal conductivity too, creating a ZT trade-off.

Representative materials: Cu3(HHTP)2 · TCNQ@Cu3(BTC)2 · iodine-loaded 2D MOF

Nodes / linkers: Cu · HHTP · BTC · TCNQ guest molecules

18 · 4.2.1. Energy conversion via heat gradients

2D-MOF/TMD hybrid systems

2D/2D Interfaces, Stacked Composites, Lateral Heterostructures, Or MOF-Derived TMD Composites

Composite or heterojunction architectures that integrate MOF porosity/active sites with TMD conductivity, edge states, and light absorption.

Conduction: Hybrid interfaces are described as lowering recombination, promoting charge transfer, and adding catalytic/ionic pathways compared with isolated components.

Representative materials: MoS2@MOF · MOF-5/WSe2@g-C3N4 · Cu3BHT/MoS2 · MoS2@VZnS//AC · Cu0.9Co2.1S4@MoS2

Nodes / linkers: Cu · Ni · Co · Zn · Mo · W · MOF organic linkers · thiolated ligands · carbon/graphene interfaces · chalcogen-vacancy bonding sites

13 · 3.1. Hybridization of 2D-MOFs and TMDs

Thermoelectric TMDs and TMD composites

2D Monolayers, Few-Layer Films, And Nanoflake Assemblies

TMD phases and nanostructured assemblies assessed for power factor, Seebeck coefficient, mobility, thermal conductivity, and ZT.

Conduction: Thermoelectric performance is framed through independently tuning electrical and thermal conductivity, including phase, gating, nanostructuring, and interface phonon scattering.

Representative materials: 1T'' MoTe2 · MoS2 · WSe2 · TMD nanoflake polymer composites

Nodes / linkers: Mo · W · chalcogen layers · polymer composite matrices

18 · 4.2. Thermoelectric applications

Transition metal dichalcogenides

Layered 2D Van Der Waals Materials, Often Exfoliated To Monolayers Or Few-Layer Sheets

Layered MX2 materials where M is a transition metal and X is S, Se, or Te, held by weak van der Waals forces between X-M-X layers.

Conduction: TMDs provide tunable bandgaps, phase-dependent metallic or semiconducting behaviour, and high in-plane transport, with defects and layer number strongly affecting performance.

Representative materials: MoS2 · WS2 · WSe2 · MoSe2 · MoTe2 · ReSe2

Nodes / linkers: Mo · W · Ti · Re · chalcogen layers: S, Se, Te

8 · 2.3. Transition metal dichalcogenides

Synthesis strategies

Review-level synthesis principles remain separate from primary-study recipes.

DFT and machine-learning guided interface screening

Use DFT, graph neural networks, active learning, and physics-informed models to screen band offsets, work functions, phase stability, and interfacial properties.

Claimed effects: Can narrow candidate spaces, predict charge-transfer barriers, and guide hybrid-pair validation faster than trial-and-error synthesis.

Controlling variables: band offset · work function · electron affinity · defect concentration · thermal properties · training dataset · active learning target

Representative materials: TMD/MOF hybrid interfaces · semiconductor interfaces · MoS2 polymorphs

Caveat: Model generalisation, data quality, and durability prediction remain limitations.

28 · 7.1.2. Technological evolution pathways for 2D-MOF/TMD hybrids

CVD, MOCVD, PECVD and ALD for TMD films

Vapour-phase growth routes for TMDs and related 2D films, emphasising layer number, crystal quality, composition, and wafer-scale uniformity.

Claimed effects: Can produce high-quality TMD films and controlled interfaces; low-temperature and MOCVD variants aid integration with temperature-sensitive components.

Controlling variables: temperature · pressure · gas flow · precursor selection · substrate · plasma conditions · deposition cycles

Representative materials: MoS2 · PtSe2 · WSe2 · MoS2-ReS2 heterojunctions

Caveat: Thermal budgets, cost, slow growth, scaling difficulty, substrate damage, and thickness-control limitations vary by CVD route.

22 · 5.1.2. CVD and other methods for TMDs · Table 6

Liquid-phase, mechanical, ultrasonic and electrochemical exfoliation

Routes for producing monolayer or few-layer TMDs and MOF nanosheets by overcoming interlayer interactions.

Claimed effects: LPE is positioned as scalable and useful for high-surface-area energy applications, while mechanical/CVD routes are favoured for defect-free optoelectronic materials.

Controlling variables: solvent · ultrasonic power · centrifugation · ball milling · electrical potential · interlayer interaction strength

Representative materials: MoS2 · WS2 · WSe2 · Zn2(bim)4 nanosheets

Caveat: Defects must be controlled because excessive disorder can harm transport and device performance.

10 · 2.3.1. Properties and applications of TMDs

Programmable MOF-TMD interface hybridisation

Design MOF/TMD contacts through metal-ligand coordination, pi-pi interactions, van der Waals stacking, covalent bonding, or vacancy-directed interfacial chemistry.

Claimed effects: Promotes charge separation, reduces recombination, improves catalytic turnover, enhances stability, and can outperform physically mixed counterparts.

Controlling variables: metal node · TMD phase · chalcogen vacancies · linker chemistry · interfacial energy barrier · pore size · lateral versus vertical geometry

Representative materials: MoS2@MOF · MOF-5/WSe2@g-C3N4 · Cu3BHT/MoS2

Caveat: Intrinsic defect effects must be decoupled from true interfacial synergy; physical mixing may show weak adhesion and batch variability.

27 · 7.1.2. Technological evolution pathways for 2D-MOF/TMD hybrids

Layer-by-layer and surface-mounted MOF growth

Sequential substrate immersion or surface growth builds MOF thin films with controlled thickness and orientation.

Claimed effects: Provides fine control over film thickness and orientation, useful for thin-film energy and sensing devices.

Controlling variables: substrate · immersion sequence · metal-node solution · linker solution · cycle number · annealing

Representative materials: SURMOFs · Cu3(btc)2 · Zn-based MOF films · TCPP-Pt 2D MOF films

Caveat: Can be slow and may require careful surface chemistry for reproducible large-area films.

21 · 5.1.1. Solvothermal and hydrothermal methods for 2D-MOFs

Pore, defect, ligand and dopant engineering

Tune pore size, missing linkers, ligands, vacancies, dopants, and redox-active groups to balance ion transport, active sites, conductivity, and stability.

Claimed effects: Improves ionic conductivity, capacitance, catalytic activity, and transport, but can degrade electronic quality or durability if defects are excessive.

Controlling variables: pore size · defect density · dopant · ligand functional group · metal ratio · electrolyte · mass loading

Representative materials: UiO MOFs · Ni-BTC/IPA-x · Zn-MOF-derived carbon · Ni-Co LDH nanosheets

Caveat: The review stresses standardising electrolyte, current density, mass loading, and defect windows for fair comparisons.

28 · 7.1.3. Critical research gaps limiting translation and reliability

Solvothermal and hydrothermal 2D-MOF synthesis

Use sealed, elevated-temperature reaction conditions to control 2D-MOF nucleation, morphology, defects, and crystal structure.

Claimed effects: Allows controlled morphology, defect concentration, and structural properties, but solvent choice and multistep conditions affect quality and reproducibility.

Controlling variables: solvent · temperature · pressure · reaction time · metal salt · organic ligand · modulator

Representative materials: CYCU-7 · CAU-11 · Ni/Co bimetallic MOF · Zn-MOF

Caveat: Scaling may suffer batch-to-batch inconsistency and lower yield; water-based and solvent-based methods can produce different defect populations.

21 · 5.1.1. Solvothermal and hydrothermal methods for 2D-MOFs

Review claims

These are the review authors’ synthesis, not newly measured results.

Consensus SummaryHigh supportMeasurement Interpretation

The review repeatedly warns that electrolyte type, electrode mass loading, current density, device configuration, strain, light intensity and force must be standardised before comparing energy-harvesting metrics.

Evidence basis: review_reasoning

Caveat: This caveat should accompany any chapter use of the review's benchmarks.

9 · 2.3. Transition metal dichalcogenides

Consensus SummaryHigh supportMeasurement Interpretation

The review treats multi-technique characterization, including XRD, SEM, Raman, TEM/STEM, XPS, AFM/PFM and time-resolved spectroscopy, as necessary to verify interface quality and correlate it with device performance.

Evidence basis: review_reasoning

Caveat: Operando and in situ methods are still described as comparatively rare for MOF/TMD hybrids.

25 · 5.2.4. Other key methods

Consensus SummaryHigh supportCaveat

Scale-up is limited by yield, cost, surface defects, thickness non-uniformity, batch variability and device compatibility, especially when translating laboratory materials to commercial energy harvesters.

Evidence basis: multi_reference

Caveat: The review is prospective and does not provide a mature commercial roadmap.

26 · 6.1. Scalability and commercialization challenges

Author InterpretationHigh supportMaterial Comparison

2D-MOFs and TMDs are presented as complementary: MOFs provide porosity, chemical tunability and active sites, while TMDs provide conductivity, catalytic edge states and strong optical absorption.

Evidence basis: multi_reference

Caveat: The review sometimes generalises across broad MOF and TMD subfamilies, so primary-paper confirmation remains necessary.

12 · 3. Synergy between 2D-MOFs and TMDs

Author InterpretationHigh supportCaveat

Reported stability remains difficult to extrapolate because most protocols do not combine humidity, thermal cycling, UV exposure, electrical bias and mechanical fatigue under field-relevant conditions.

Evidence basis: review_reasoning

Caveat: This is a research-gap interpretation, not a measured result.

28 · 7.1.3. Critical research gaps limiting translation and reliability

Author InterpretationHigh supportSynthesis Strategy

Precise interface control during synthesis is described as fundamental because cooperative effects originate at the MOF-TMD interface.

Evidence basis: review_reasoning

Caveat: The review surveys route categories rather than extracting detailed recipes.

21 · 5. Fabrication and characterization techniques

Author InterpretationMedium supportTransport Mechanism

The review argues that hybrid gains are not merely additive but arise at interfaces through band alignment, charge-transfer kinetics, and defect-mediated active-site generation.

Evidence basis: review_reasoning

Caveat: This is a synthesis claim; the review also notes the need to decouple intrinsic defect effects from interfacial synergy.

13 · 3.2. Mechanisms of synergy in energy harvesting

DescriptiveMedium supportApplication Relevance

Piezoelectric and triboelectric harvesting are framed through symmetry breaking, surface morphology, polymer pairing and mechanical stress-response metrics.

Evidence basis: multi_reference

Caveat: The review notes that fully packaged PENG/TENG devices using hybrid materials remain at early development stages.

18 · 4.3. Piezoelectric and triboelectric energy harvesting

Author InterpretationMedium supportSynthesis Strategy

DFT and ML are presented as accelerators for predicting band offsets, work functions, defect effects and thermal properties, reducing candidate-screening time.

Evidence basis: single_reference

Caveat: The review highlights model quality and generalisation challenges.

20 · 4.4. Computational design and interface engineering

Author InterpretationMedium supportCaveat

Guest-molecule or iodine loading can improve MOF electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power factor, but increased thermal conductivity may offset ZT gains.

Evidence basis: multi_reference

Caveat: Reported values are secondary and need primary extraction before quantitative ranking.

18 · 4.2.1. Energy conversion via heat gradients

Consensus SummaryMedium supportStructure Property Link

For 2D-MOF-derived electrodes, pore size and pore hierarchy are linked to ion transport, rate capability and low-temperature electrochemical performance.

Evidence basis: multi_reference

Caveat: Electrochemical benchmarks are condition-sensitive and not thermoelectric measurements.

6 · 2.2.1. Properties and characteristics of 2D-MOFs

DescriptiveMedium supportApplication Relevance

The review uses MoSe2/silicon and high-work-function interface examples to argue that TMD/MOF-adjacent interface design can improve photovoltaic PCE, Jsc, FF and Voc.

Evidence basis: multi_reference

Caveat: The photovoltaic examples include TMD/silicon and interface-layer systems, not always direct 2D-MOF/TMD devices.

17 · 4.1.2. Performance metrics

DescriptiveHigh supportDefinition Scope

Thermoelectric discussion is organised around ZT = S2σT/κ, with hybrid interfaces expected to preserve charge transport while lowering thermal conductivity through phonon scattering.

Evidence basis: multi_reference

Caveat: The review reports few direct MOF/TMD thermoelectric devices; much of the thermoelectric discussion concerns TMDs or MOFs separately.

18 · 4.2.1. Energy conversion via heat gradients

Consensus SummaryMedium supportStructure Property Link

TMD thermoelectric performance can be tuned by phase, field effect, dimensionality and nanostructuring, with low-dimensional assemblies reducing thermal conductivity.

Evidence basis: multi_reference

Caveat: Many claims derive from TMD-only work, not complete 2D-MOF/TMD thermoelectric devices.

18 · 4.2.2. Recent advancements

DescriptiveMedium supportTransport Mechanism

Type-II band alignment is treated as a central route to spatially separate electrons and holes, suppressing recombination at MOF/TMD heterojunctions.

Evidence basis: multi_reference

Caveat: Band offsets depend on composition and interface quality; defects or adsorbates can shift band edges.

13 · 3.2. Mechanisms of synergy in energy harvesting

Secondary benchmarks

Every row remains visibly secondary and links to a primary dossier only where the mapping is verified.

Material	Property	Reported value	Context and quality	Primary evidence	Review source
SecondaryCu3BHT/MoS2	specific capacitance	329.9 F/g	Hybrid Cu3BHT grown on 1T(H)-MoS2; compared with approximately 155 F/g pristine MoS2 in Table 5 Table · Exact Reported	No verified corpus mapping	20 · Table 5 · Table 5
SecondaryCu3(HHTP)2 MOF with molecular iodine	thermoelectric power factor	0.757 μW/m/K	Optimized through molecular iodine incorporation Text · Exact Reported	No verified corpus mapping	18 · 4.2.1. Energy conversion via heat gradients
SecondaryFerroelectric metal-ligand cage composite device	peak output voltage and power density	12.20 V; 14.85 μW/cm	Composite piezoelectric device based on MOF-like ferroelectric cage; review reports remnant polarization 6.84 μC/cm Text · Exact Reported	No verified corpus mapping	20 · 4.3. Piezoelectric and triboelectric energy harvesting
SecondaryMoO3-interface MoSe2-based/silicon photovoltaic device	short-circuit current density	31.4 mA/cm2	High-work-function interface layer such as MoO3; Table 4 also reports PCE 28.96%, FF 80.8%, Voc 632 mV Table · Exact Reported	No verified corpus mapping	15 · Table 4 · Table 4
SecondaryMoS2 TMD nanoflake composite	thermoelectric power factor	0.046-0.049 mW/m/K	Optimized morphology and concentration at 3 wt%-5 wt% MoS2 concentration Text · Range	No verified corpus mapping	18 · 4.2.2. Recent advancements
SecondaryMoS2@VZnS//AC	energy density	39.5 Wh/kg	Hybrid battery-supercapacitor; Table 5 reports approximately 25 Wh/kg for pristine MoS2 and 58.0% gain Table · Exact Reported	No verified corpus mapping	20 · Table 5 · Table 5
SecondaryMoSe2/silicon tandem photovoltaic	power conversion efficiency	28.96%	Six-layer MoSe2 superlattice with optimized 40 nm SiO2 antireflective coating, compared with 23.28% c-Si cell in Table 5 Table · Exact Reported	No verified corpus mapping	20 · Table 5 · Table 5
SecondaryMoSSe Janus structure	piezoelectric coefficient	0.058 C/m2; 0.081 C/m2 for MoSSe-BlueP heterojunction	Monolayer Janus MoSSe and van der Waals heterojunction with BlueP Text · Exact Reported	No verified corpus mapping	19 · 4.3. Piezoelectric and triboelectric energy harvesting
Secondary1T'' MoTe2	hole carrier mobility	1434 cm2/V/s	Room temperature; thermoelectric TMD phase discussed in Section 4.2.1 and Table 4 Text · Exact Reported	No verified corpus mapping	18 · 4.2.1. Energy conversion via heat gradients
Secondary1T'' MoTe2	Seebeck coefficient	750 μV/K	Reported as favourable Seebeck coefficient associated with high thermoelectric power factors Text · Exact Reported	No verified corpus mapping	18 · 4.2.1. Energy conversion via heat gradients
SecondaryNi//Cu MOF and AC hybrid capacitor	energy density	57 Wh/kg at 1500 W/kg	Hybrid capacitor at 1500 W/kg; maximum power density 48000 W/kg and 9 Wh/kg at 32 A/g also reported Text · Exact Reported	No verified corpus mapping	17 · 4.1.2. Performance metrics
SecondaryTCNQ@Cu3(BTC)2	electrical conductivity	0.45 S/m	Guest molecule infiltration in MOF system; review notes thermal conductivity also increases Text · Exact Reported	research_0189	18 · 4.2.1. Energy conversion via heat gradients
SecondaryTMD nanoflake composite system	ZT	0.04 at room temperature	Enabled by low thermal conductivity of 0.27 W/m/K in composite systems Text · Exact Reported	No verified corpus mapping	18 · 4.2.2. Recent advancements

Research gaps

Open questions are presented as review-author priorities, not conclusions from the primary database.

Defect optimisation

Medium

The field lacks robust design rules for defect densities that improve catalysis without degrading transport, mechanical integrity or stability.

Proposed direction: Use combinatorial designs and ML-assisted structure-property mapping across defect density, charge transport, catalysis and mechanical strength.

28 · 7.1.3. Critical research gaps limiting translation and reliability

Sustainable processing

Medium

Many methods remain energy-intensive, solvent-dependent or difficult to reproduce industrially.

Proposed direction: Prioritise mechanochemical, green-chemistry and eco-friendly synthesis routes with scalable quality control.

29 · 8. Conclusion

Benchmark comparability

High

Electrolyte, mass loading, current density, strain, illumination, force, and device configuration are not consistently reported, limiting like-for-like comparison.

Proposed direction: Report and normalise device-relevant conditions alongside capacitance, PCE, power factor, output voltage/current and cycling retention.

11 · 2.3.2. TMDs in energy harvesting

Operando characterization

Medium

Static XRD, SEM and XPS dominate, while dynamic ion migration, charge redistribution and strain evolution during operation remain under-characterised.

Proposed direction: Use operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy, time-resolved spectroelectrochemistry and advanced microscopy during device operation.

28 · 7.1.3. Critical research gaps limiting translation and reliability

Device integration

High

Most studies remain materials-centric, with few fully packaged MOF/TMD energy harvesters, storage units, and power-management systems demonstrated under realistic conditions.

Proposed direction: Prioritise complete system demonstrations operating continuously for long periods in field-relevant environments.

28 · 7.1.3. Critical research gaps limiting translation and reliability

Multi-stressor durability

High

Long-term stability under coupled humidity, UV, temperature cycling, bias and mechanical stress is insufficiently explored.

Proposed direction: Adopt accelerated protocols combining high humidity, thermal cycling, UV exposure, electrical bias and failure-mode attribution.

28 · 7.1.3. Critical research gaps limiting translation and reliability

Scalability and reproducibility

High

Commercial translation is limited by synthesis yield, batch-to-batch reproducibility, cost of ligands/precursors, thickness non-uniformity, and defects introduced at scale.

Proposed direction: Optimise synthesis yield, use cost-efficient precursors, and develop roll-to-roll, wafer-scale, flow-reactor and scalable exfoliation processes.

26 · 6.1. Scalability and commercialization challenges

Direct thermoelectric MOF/TMD devices

Medium

The thermoelectric section relies heavily on separate TMD and MOF examples rather than mature 2D-MOF/TMD thermoelectric devices.

Proposed direction: Develop direct hybrid thermoelectric devices that quantify ZT, power factor, thermal conductivity, contact stability and cycling under temperature gradients.

18 · 4.2. Thermoelectric applications

Cited-study map

Mappings show which printed review references have a verified counterpart in the frozen primary corpus.

Show 16 cited-study records

Reference	Study	Role and context	Corpus mapping
Ashraf et al. (2026)2026	Synergistic of MOF-5/WSe2@g-C3N4 enhancing structural and electronic properties for superior hydrogen evolution reaction performance and electrochemical stability in advanced energy storage10.1016/j.jpcs.2025.112990	hybrid_interface · energy_storage · HERUsed as a central example of 2D-MOF/TMD hybridization improving electrochemical stability and HER-related properties through charge transfer and structural robustness.	Unmapped
Bilc et al. (2021)2021	Electronic and thermoelectric properties of transition-metal dichalcogenides10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c07088	thermoelectric_context · TMD_transportCited with Ali et al. and Pallecchi et al. for low thermal conductivity and room-temperature ZT discussion in TMD composite systems.	Unmapped
Chen et al. (2024)2024	Highly efficient organic/silicon hybrid solar cells with a MoO3 capping layer10.3390/nano14201630	secondary_benchmark · photovoltaics · interface_layerUsed for interface-layer photovoltaic metrics and to support the review's argument that work-function alignment improves current collection and Voc.	Unmapped
Choudhary and Garrity (2024)2024	InterMat: accelerating band offset prediction in semiconductor interfaces with DFT and deep learning10.1039/d4dd00031e	computational_design · DFT · machine_learningUsed to support the review's claim that DFT plus graph neural networks can predict band offsets and guide interface design.	Unmapped
Deng et al. (2020)2020	In-plane assembly of distinctive 2D MOFs with optimum supercapacitive performance10.1016/j.isci.2020.101220	secondary_benchmark · device_assembly · supercapacitorSelected device-level benchmark for a 2D-MOF hybrid capacitor with Ragone-relevant energy, power, and cycling stability.	Unmapped
Ge et al. (2020)2020	Large thermoelectric power factor of high-mobility transition-metal dichalcogenides with 1 T ″ phase10.1103/physrevresearch.2.013134	thermoelectric_benchmark · TMD_phase · transportSelected thermoelectric transport benchmark for mobility and Seebeck coefficient in 1T'' MoTe2.	Unmapped
Gonzalez-Juarez et al. (2023)2023	Enhanced thermoelectric properties of a semiconducting two-dimensional metal–organic framework via iodine loading10.1021/acsami.2c20770	thermoelectric_benchmark · MOF_transport · iodine_loadingSelected benchmark for molecular-iodine optimisation of a semiconducting 2D MOF's thermoelectric power factor.	Unmapped
Hosseini and Safarifard (2024)2024	MoS2@MOF composites: design strategies and photocatalytic applications10.1016/j.mssp.2023.107892	hybrid_design · photocatalysis · review_contextCited for design strategies and photocatalytic benefits of MoS2@MOF hybrids, especially improved photochemical stability and charge separation.	Unmapped
Hu et al. (2024)2024	Tandem photovoltaics from 2D transition metal dichalcogenides on silicon10.1021/acsphotonics.4c00982	secondary_benchmark · photovoltaics · TMD_siliconSelected for the review-reported MoSe2/silicon tandem photovoltaic PCE and comparison with c-Si cells.	Unmapped
Imran et al. (2024)2024	Designing of high performance MoS2@VZnS//AC hybrid battery supercapacitor device for the electrochemical energy storage and glucose detection10.1088/1402-4896/ad295c	secondary_benchmark · battery_supercapacitor · hybrid_performanceUsed for a hybrid battery-supercapacitor benchmark and as an example of TMD hybrid systems outperforming pristine TMDs.	Unmapped
Miao et al. (2022)2022	A facile morphology tunable strategy of Zn-MOF derived hierarchically carbon materials with enhanced supercapacitive performance through the solvent effect10.1039/d2dt02624d	pore_engineering · secondary_benchmark · supercapacitorSelected for pore hierarchy/pore-size tuning benchmarks and the review's caveat that pore and electrolyte conditions strongly affect electrochemical comparisons.	Unmapped
Pallecchi et al. (2020)2020	Review on thermoelectric properties of transition metal dichalcogenides10.1088/2399-1984/ab92f4	thermoelectric_context · TMD_transport · secondary_benchmarkUsed for TMD thermoelectric tunability and nanostructured MoS2 composite power factor benchmarks.	Unmapped
Prajesh et al. (2025)2025	Flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator with a ferroelectric metal–ligand cage for self-powered sensor applications10.1021/acsaem.5c00269	piezoelectric_benchmark · MOF_device · mechanical_energySelected MOF piezoelectric benchmark for output voltage, power density, and ferroelectric/piezoelectric confirmation.	Unmapped
Rana et al. (2022)2022	Recent trends in 2D materials and their polymer composites for effectively harnessing mechanical energy10.1016/j.isci.2022.103748	piezoelectric_context · triboelectric_context · mechanical_energyUsed for Janus TMD piezoelectric coefficients and 2D-material triboelectric polarity/output context.	Unmapped
Sun et al. (2023)2023	Synergistic enhancement of capacitance of amorphous CuBHT/MoS2 hybrids10.1021/acs.energyfuels.3c01053	secondary_benchmark · supercapacitor · hybrid_performanceSelected benchmark for capacitance gain in a CuBHT/MoS2 hybrid relative to pristine MoS2.	Unmapped
Talin et al. (2016)2016	Metal–organic frameworks for thermoelectric energy-conversion applications10.1557/mrs.2016.242	thermoelectric_context · MOF_transport · review_contextUsed to frame MOFs as low-thermal-conductivity thermoelectric materials and to note conductivity gains from guest-molecule infiltration.	research_0189