Abstract
Harnessing solar energy and converting it into renewable fuels by chemical processes, such as water splitting and carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction, is a highly promising yet challenging strategy to mitigate the effects arising from the global energy crisis and serious environmental concerns. In recent years, covalent organic framework (COF)-based materials have gained substantial research interest because of their diversified architecture, tunable composition, large surface area, and high thermal and chemical stability. Their tunable band structure and significant light absorption with higher charge separation efficiency of photoinduced carriers make them suitable candidates for photocatalytic applications in hydrogen (H2) generation, CO2 conversion, and various organic transformation reactions. In this article, we describe the recent progress in the topology design and synthesis method of COF-based nanomaterials by elucidating the structure-property correlations for photocatalytic hydrogen generation and CO2 reduction applications. The effect of using various kinds of 2D and 3D COFs and strategies to control the morphology and enhance the photocatalytic activity is also summarized. Finally, the key challenges and perspectives in the field are highlighted for the future development of highly efficient COF-based photocatalysts.
Highlights
Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a new emerging class of porous and crystalline materials, which are made of organic groups linked together via robust covalent bonds [1,2,3]
We have summarized some of the latest progress in the synthesis and photocatalytic application of COF hybrids in the hydrogen evolution and CO2 utilization reaction
The CO2 reduction reaction involves the use of redox active sites, larger surface area values, and the presence of triazine/bipyridine units assisting in the chelation of metal complexes to facilitate the superior reaction rates
Summary
Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a new emerging class of porous and crystalline materials, which are made of organic groups linked together via robust covalent bonds [1,2,3]. The advantages of using COFs as photocatalysts materials are; (i) easy tunability of band structure and morphology by incorporating various building blocks; (ii) higher surface area and porous structure creating more active sites and providing easy accessibility of the substrate molecules when compared with traditional silica and zeolite materials; (iii) higher thermal and chemical stability due to the covalent bond linkages unlike coordinate bonds in MOFs; (iv) strong π–π interactions between the layers assisting in the charge carrier transportation; and (v) the appropriate bandgap enables the visible-light responsive ability. This article highlights recent developments in synthetic methodologies of COF frameworks for their application in the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution and CO2 utilization reactions, with a view to mapping structure–activity relationships. We conclude by presenting our views on the current challenges and future directions in the strategic design and applications of COF-based hybrid photocatalysts
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