Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2025, Vol. 70: 142-206.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(24)60184-1

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Recent advances of covalent organic frameworks-based photocatalysts: Principles, designs, and applications

Hongjun Donga, Chunhong Qua, Chunmei Lia, Bo Hub,*(), Xin Lic,*(), Guijie Liange, Jizhou Jiangd,*()   

  1. aAdvanced Chemical Engineering Laboratory of Green Materials and Energy of Jiangsu Province, Institute of Green Chemistry and Chemical Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu, China
    bBaicheng Normal University, Baicheng 137000, Jilin, China
    cInstitute of Biomass Engineering, Key Laboratory of Energy Plants Resource and Utilization of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory for Biobased Materials and Energy of Ministry of Education, College of Materials and Energy, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong, China
    dSchool of Environmental Ecology and Biological Engineering, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Engineering Process of Ministry of Education, Engineering Research Center of Phosphorus Resources Development and Utilization of Ministry of Education, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, Hubei, China
    eHubei Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, Hubei, China
  • Received:2024-09-19 Accepted:2024-11-05 Online:2025-03-18 Published:2025-03-20
  • Contact: * E-mail: hubo93@bcnu.edu.cn (B. Hu),xinli@scau.edu.cn (X. Li),027wit@163.com (J. Jiang).
  • About author:Bo Hu received his Ph.D. degree from Jiangsu University in 2024. Since July 2024, he has been working at the School of Chemistry, Baicheng Normal University. His research interest mainly focuses on the photo/electrocatalytic application of nanomaterials, particularly the photo/electrocatalytic conversion for hydrogen evolution and CO2 reduction. He has published more than 20 peer-reviewed papers.
    Xin Li (South China Agricultural University) received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from Zhengzhou University in 2002 and the South China University of Technology in 2007, respectively. Then, he joined the South China Agricultural University as a faculty staff member, and became a professor in 2017. During 2012 and 2019, he worked as a visiting scholar at the Electrochemistry Center, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Department of Chemistry, the University of Utah, respectively. His research interests include photocatalysis, photoelectrochemistry, adsorption, biomass engineering and related materials, and device development.
    Jizhou Jiang is currently a full Professor in School of Environmental Ecology and Biological Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology (WIT). He completed his PhD in the Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST) in 2015. This was followed by a period of postdoctoral research at National University of Singapore under the supervision of Prof. Andrew T. S. Wee from 2015 to 2017. His current research focuses on the fabrication of novel 2D carbon-based materials and their applications of photo/electro‐catalysis.
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(52072153);National Natural Science Foundation of China(52202238);National Natural Science Foundation of China(62004143);Key R&D Program of Hubei Province(2022BAA084);Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China(2021M690023);Zhenjiang Key R&D Programmes(SH2021021)

Abstract:

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) semiconductor materials have garnered significant attention in solar to chemical energy conversion owing to their unique properties, including structural tunability, pre-design capability, large surface area, abundant pore structures, high crystallinity, excellent chemical stability, suitable energy-band structure, fast charge carrier transfer and so on. These intrinsic features endow COFs with the remarkable candidates for various photocatalytic applications including photocatalytic H2 generation from water reduction, CO2 reduction, degradation of organic pollutants, N2 fixation, H2O2 evolution, and even organic synthesis. Here, this review comprehensively summarizes the recent advancements in COF-based materials for the above photocatalytic reactions, including the historic overview of the COF in the photocatalysis field, the fundamentals and design philosophy of COF-based photocatalysts, the advances of synthesis strategies, the structural characteristics and diversities, the practical applications in various photocatalytic fields as well as the challenges and future development direction in terms of COFs material and application perspectives. We sincerely hope this review can offer symbolic guidelines for future development COF semiconductor materials in this promising field.

Key words: Covalent organic framework, Photocatalysis, Structural feature, Energy conversion, Environmental purification