Prussian blue and its analogues as functional template materials: control of derived structure compositions and morphologies

Hexacyanometallates, known as Prussian blue (PB) and its analogues (PBAs), are a class of coordination
compounds with a regular and porous open structure. The PBAs are formed by the self-assembly of
metallic species and cyanide groups. A uniform distribution of each element makes the PBAs robust
templates to prepare hollow and highly porous (hetero)nanostructures of metal oxides, sulfides, carbides,
nitrides, phosphides, and (N-doped) carbon, among other compositions. In this review, we examine
methods to derive materials from PBAs focusing on the correlation between synthesis steps and
derivative morphologies and composition. Insights into catalytic and electrochemical properties resulting
from different derivatization strategies are also presented. We discuss challenges in manipulating the
derivatives properties, give perspectives of synthetic approaches for the target applications and present
an outlook on less investigated grounds in Prussian blue derivatives