Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are promising for catalysis, sensing, gas storage, adsorption, optoelectricity, etc. owning to the unprecedented combination of large surface area, high crystallinity, tunable pore size, and unique molecular architecture. Although COFs are in their initial research stage, progress has been made in the design and synthesis of COF‐based electrocatalysis for the oxygen reduction reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, and CO2reduction in energy conversion and fuel generation. Design principles are also established for some of the COF materials toward rational design and rapid screening of the best electrocatalysts for a specific application. Herein, the recent advances in the design and synthesis of COF‐based catalysts for clean energy conversion and storage are presented. Future research directions and perspectives are also being discussed for the development of efficient COF‐based electrocatalysts.
Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), an emerging class of framework materials linked by covalent bonds, hold potential for various applications such as efficient electrocatalysts, photovoltaics, and sensors. To rationally design COF‐based electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions in fuel cells and metal‐air batteries, activity descriptors, derived from orbital energy and bonding structures, are identified with the first‐principle calculations for the COFs, which correlate COF structures with their catalytic activities. The calculations also predict that alkaline‐earth metal‐porphyrin COFs could catalyze the direct production of H2O2, a green oxidizer and an energy carrier. These predictions are supported by experimental data, and the design principles derived from the descriptors provide an approach for rational design of new electrocatalysts for both clean energy conversion and green oxidizer production.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10026488
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Materials
- Volume:
- 29
- Issue:
- 17
- ISSN:
- 0935-9648
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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