Covalent Organic Frameworks and 2D Materials Hybrids: Synthesis Strategies, Properties Enhancements, and Future...

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are highly porous, thermally and chemically stable organic polymers. Their high porosity, crystallinity, and adjustable properties make them suitable for numerous applications. However, COFs encounter critical challenges, such as their difficult processability, self-stacking propensity, low electrical conductivity, pore blockage which limits their ionic conductivity, and high recombination rates of photoinduced electrons and holes. To overcome these issues, the hybridization of COFs with 2D materials (2DMs) has proven to be an effective strategy. 2DMs including graphene-like materials, transition metal dichalcogenides, and MXenes are particularly advantageous because of their unique physicochemical properties, such as exceptional electrical and optical characteristics, and mechanical resilience. Over the past decade, significant research efforts have been focused on hybrid 2DMs-COFs materials. These hybrids leverage the strengths of both materials, making them suitable for advanced applications. This Review highlights the latest advancements in 2DM-COF hybrids, examining the physicochemical strengths and weaknesses of the pristine materials, together with the synergistic benefits of their hybridization. Moreover, it emphasizes their most remarkable applications in chemical sensing, catalysis, energy storage, adsorption and filtration, and as anticorrosion agents. Finally, it discusses future challenges and opportunities in the development of 2DM-COFs for new disruptive technologies.