The organic linkers for conductive MOFs are generally conjugated. 2D conductive MOFs have been explored well and several studies of 3D conductive MOFs have also been reported so far. Single crystal structure of a 2D conductive MOF Co(HHTP) [hexahydroxytriphenylene] was reported in 2012.
The conductivity of these materials are often tested by two probe method, i.e. a known potential is applied between two probes, the resulting current is measured, and resistance is calculated by using Ohm’s law. A four-probe method employs two wires on the extreme are used to supply a current and the inner two wires measure the drop in potential. This method eliminates the effect of contact resistance.
Most MOFs have conductivity less than 10 S cm and are considered as Insulator. Based on the literature reports so far, conductivity range in the MOFs can vary from 10 to 10 S cm. Charge transfer in conductive MOFs have been attributed to three pathways: 1) Through-bond:- when d orbital of  transition metal ion overlaps with the p orbital of the organic linker, π electrons are delocalized across all the adjacent p orbitals. 2) Extended conjugation:- When transition metal ions are coupled with the a conjugated organic linker, the d-π conjugation allows delocalization of the charge carriers. 3) Through-space:- Organic linkers in one layer can interact with the one in the adjacent layer via π-π interaction. This will facilitate charge delocalization in the adjacent layers.