2D Salphen-based heteropore covalent organic frameworks for highly efficient electrocatalytic water oxidation

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Constructing heteroporous covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with diverse pore structures remains a significant challenge in materials science.
• Covalent organic frameworks offer tunable properties for various applications, including catalysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a facile method for synthesizing 2D heteroporous covalent organic frameworks (COFs).
• To investigate the catalytic activity of these novel COFs in water oxidation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized in situ salphen or metal salphen formation for COF synthesis.
• Characterized the resulting 2D COFs with hexagonal and quadrilateral pores.
• Evaluated the electrocatalytic performance of metallized COFs for water oxidation.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized a series of 2D heteroporous COFs featuring both hexagonal and quadrilateral pores.
• Demonstrated that metallized salphen-based COFs function as effective electrocatalysts for water oxidation.
• Achieved an overpotential of 266 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² for water oxidation.

Conclusions:

• The in situ salphen formation strategy provides a viable route to heteroporous COFs.
• Metallized salphen-based COFs are promising candidates for efficient electrocatalytic water oxidation.
• This work advances the design and application of functional covalent organic frameworks.