Recent Progress in Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) for Electrocatalysis

Abstract

Electrocatalysis provides various technologies for energy storage and conversion, which is an important part of realizing sustainable clean energy for the future. COFs, as emerging porous crystalline polymers, possess high specific surface areas, tunable pore structures, high crystallinity and tailorable functionalization. These features endow COFs with abundant active sites and fast electron transport channels, making them potentially efficient electrocatalysts. In recent years, COF-based electrocatalysts have been widely developed for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) and carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR). In this review, design strategies of COF-based electrocatalysts are briefly summarized, including applying COF as supports, introducing active metals in COF, constructing two-dimensional conductive COF, formation of COF-based hybrid and pyrolysis of COF to obtain carbon materials. Then, the recent research progress in COF-derived catalysts for specific electrocatalytic reactions is introduced systematically. Finally, the outlook and challenges of future applications of COFs in electrocatalysis are highlighted.