A review on recent developments towards hydrogen evolution reaction for covalent organic frameworks

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a brand-new class of crystalline porous materials, gaining popularity due to their exceptional porosity, efficient crystallinity, and adjustable characteristics. Therefore, there has been much interest in the strategic advancement of photocatalysts relay on COF for applications such as energy production and environmental restoration. Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution using COFs to convert sunlight into sustainable fuel through water splitting has been the subject of significant research. Compared to traditional inorganic catalysts, COFs’ customizable band topologies, high surface areas, and inexpensive cost set them apart. However, studies in this area are just starting, and COFs still have several issues to overcome, such as poor stability, high binding energy for excitation, and low charge-carrier mobility. Mechanochemistry-based design strategies have been developed to synthesize and modify COFs, boosting their photocatalytic performance and helping them overcome these limitations. The charge separation of light absorption in COFs can be enhanced through many methods, and this may be achieved by improving the π conjugation, introducing hetero-atoms, or including metal complexes and adopting a donor-acceptor organization. The opportunities and challenges facing COF-based solid catalysts for environmentally friendly, long-term green fuel generation are also discussed. This investigation clearly shows the significance of COF-based materials in facilitating the solar light-directed H2 generation process and may benefit the potential development of photocatalysts.