Nanostructured covalent organic frameworks with elevated crystallization for (electro)photocatalysis and energy storage devices

Nanostructured covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have attracted great attentions over the past few decades due to their unique physical and chemical properties. Crystallization is sought in many application fields since it allows enhancing or even promoting properties of catalysis, energy storage and photoelectric properties. However, the crystallization process of nanostructured COFs remains to be challenging. Synthetic approaches to establish nucleation and elongation growth of COFs for controlling crystallization have drawn substantial amount of attentions. Nanostructured COFs have exhibited significant advantages when applied in (electro)photocatalysis and energy storage devices as well. In this review, recent progress in precisely design strategy of fabricating various nanostructured COFs and their applications as (electro)photocatalyzer and energy storage devices are summarized. After a brief introduction of the design principles, composition and interior architecture, the morphology of nanostructured COFs including porous and mesoporous stacked-layer structure, nanosheet structure, nanorod structure, ordered stripe arrays and various nanocomposites are thoroughly described. Reactions dedicated to crystallization process for two-dimensional (2D) COFs are discussed further. Then, the applications of nanostructured COFs as (electro)photocatalysis and energy storage devices are demonstrated. Finally, the potential advantages and challenges for the synthetic technology of nanostructured COFs materials are particularly discussed. Personal insights into the challenges and opportunities on pursuing topologies as hollow structures, dense spheres, yolk-shell structures were raised to broaden the applications.