Integrated metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with graphene oxide (GO) have aroused huge interest in recent years due to their unique properties and excellent performance compared to MOFs or GO alone. While a lot of attention has been focused on the synthesis methodologies and the performance analysis of the composite materials in recent years, the fundamental formation/crystallization mechanism(s) is (are) still not fully understood. Ascribed to the distinctive structural and functional properties of GO, the nucleation and crystallization process of MOFs could be altered/promoted, forming MOF/GO composite materials with different nanostructures. Furthermore, the MOF's parental structure could also influence how the GO and MOF bond together. Thus, this short review attempted to provide critical and indepth discussions of recent research results with a particular focus on the factors that influence the directional growth of parent MOFs in the presence of graphene oxide. Due to the unique structure and enhanced properties, the derived MOF/GO composites have a wide range of applications including gas separation, electrochemistry, and photocatalysis. We hope this review will be of interest to researchers working on MOF design, crystal structure control (e.g., orientation), and composite materials development.
Keywords: MOF/GO composite; directed growth; graphene oxide; metal–organic frameworks; orientation.