Integrated carbon nanotube and triazine-based covalent organic framework composites for high capacitance performance

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Covalent-organic frameworks (COFs) are promising for energy storage due to high surface area and designability.
• Low electrical conductivity of COFs limits their application in supercapacitors.
• Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) offer excellent electrical conductivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the electrical conductivity and electrochemical performance of COFs for supercapacitor applications.
• To synthesize novel CNT@COF composites using a facile one-pot method.
• To investigate the properties and performance of the synthesized CNT@TFA-COF-3 composite.

Main Methods:

• A facile one-pot method was employed to synthesize CNT@COF composites.
• 2D TFA-COFs were grown *in situ* on carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs).
• Electrochemical performance was evaluated using supercapacitors, including specific capacitance and cycle stability.

Main Results:

• The CNT@TFA-COF-3 composite demonstrated good crystallinity, regular pores, and high surface area (1034 m² g⁻¹).
• The composite exhibited significantly improved specific capacitance (338 F g⁻¹) compared to pristine COFs, CNTs, and physical mixtures.
• The supercapacitor demonstrated excellent long-term stability over 7000 cycles and good rate capability.

Conclusions:

• The developed CNT@TFA-COF-3 composite offers a promising strategy to overcome the conductivity limitations of COFs.
• This work provides new insights for designing advanced COF-based composites for high-performance energy storage.
• The study highlights the potential of CNT@COF composites as efficient electrode materials for next-generation supercapacitors.