Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2026, Vol. 85: 47-87.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(26)65021-8

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Unraveling structure-activity relationships in 2-D covalent organic frameworks for photocatalysis: From molecular engineering to high-performance optimization

Jiaying Liua, Yu Fanga,b()   

  1. a State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, Hunan, China
    b State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian, China
  • Received:2025-09-29 Accepted:2025-11-24 Online:2026-06-18 Published:2026-05-18
  • Contact: *E-mail: yu.fang@fjirsm.ac.cn (Y. Fang).
  • About author:Yu Fang (Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences) earned his M.S. degree in 2010 from Shanghai Jiao Tong University under the supervision of Professor Yong Cui, and his Ph.D. in 2014 from the University of Tokyo under the guidance of Professor Makoto Fujita. He then conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Tokyo (2014-2015) and later at Texas A&M University (2015-2019), where he worked with Professor Hong-Cai Zhou. In 2019, he returned to China to join the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Hunan University as a full professor, before moving to his current position at the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter (FJIRSM), Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2025.His research focuses on coordination-driven supramolecular self-assembly, with an emphasis on the rational design and synthesis of porous functional materials—such as porous coordination cages (PCCs), metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and covalent organic frameworks (COFs). He aims to precisely modulate the properties of these materials for applications in energy storage and conversion, catalysis, and biomedical science. Professor Fang has authored numerous publications in high-impact journals including Nature Communications, J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., with several papers recognized as Highly Cited. He also serves as a Youth Editorial Board Member for Chinese Chemical Lettersand holds several other academic roles.

Abstract:

Faced with national fossil energy depletion and worsening environmental pollution, the shift to renewable energy is urgent. Solar energy, as a green and eco-friendly option, is converted into storable secondary energy to achieve carbon neutrality. Photocatalysts are key for this solar-to-secondary energy conversion, and two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (2-D COFs) are highly promising candidates due to their large specific surface area, excellent stability, and flexible structural design. This paper comprehensively reviews the structural design of 2-D COFs, photocatalytic mechanisms, and the structure-function relationship. It also explores their applications in six fields: carbon dioxide reduction for carbon mitigation, uranium extraction from seawater for resource security, hydrogen peroxide synthesis as an eco-friendly alternative, organic transformation with high selectivity, and pollutant degradation for environmental improvement and hydrogen synthesis as a renewable energy. However, 2-D COFs face challenges in the photocatalytic field, including a limited light absorption range and relatively low charge separation efficiency. These issues hinder their full-scale application and performance optimization. Despite these obstacles, this study provides key insights and future directions for advancing 2-D COFs, aiming to inspire further research to overcome current limitations and unlock their full potential.

Key words: Photocatalyst, Two-dimensional porous materials, Covalent organic frameworks, Structure-activity relationship, Reaction mechanism