Issue 7, 2021

sp2 carbon-conjugated covalent organic frameworks: synthesis, properties, and applications

Abstract

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) represent an emerging class of well-ordered porous materials that precisely reticulate organic units into extended networks and have been at the forefront of porous materials research over the past decade. In the quest to expand the reticular chemistry and develop next-generation COFs with peculiar material properties, sp2 carbon-conjugated COFs (sp2c-COFs) have garnered a surge of interest since their inception in 2016 due to the unparalleled features of continuous π-conjugation, high crystallinity, permanent porosity, unique optoelectronic properties, and extraordinary chemical stability. A rapidly growing number of 2D sp2c-COFs (more than 40 in total within just 4 years) have been hitherto constructed and broadly used in various areas. In this review, we scrutinize the design principles, synthetic routes, key features, and mechanistic investigations of sp2c-COFs. We survey the advances in their broad applications spanning heterogeneous catalysis, radionuclide sequestration, lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, and optical applications, and rationalize their superior performance against structurally analogous imine-linked COFs. We further discuss the unsettled scientific challenges and provide future perspectives of sp2c-COFs.

Graphical abstract: sp2 carbon-conjugated covalent organic frameworks: synthesis, properties, and applications

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
06 Jan 2021
Accepted
29 Jan 2021
First published
02 Feb 2021

Mater. Chem. Front., 2021,5, 2931-2949

Author version available

sp2 carbon-conjugated covalent organic frameworks: synthesis, properties, and applications

X. Li, Mater. Chem. Front., 2021, 5, 2931 DOI: 10.1039/D1QM00015B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements