Recent Advances and Perspectives of Covalent Organic Frameworks for Alkali-Ion Batteries

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), a novel class of crystalline porous materials constructed by covalent bonds, possess ordered porous structures via thermodynamically controlled polymerization reactions. Because of their structurally diverse, regular pore structures, high surface area, and thermal stability can be functionally tailored through different synthetic methods to meet the needs of various applications including for secondary batteries. This review summarized recent efforts that have been devoted to designing and synthesizing COF-based materials for battery applications, including electrode materials, electrolytes, and separators. Unique characteristics of COFs allow for the rational design of targeted functions, suppression of side reactions, and promotion of ion transport for batteries. This review clarified recent research progress on COF materials for lithium-ion batteries, lithium–sulfur batteries, sodium-ion batteries, potassium-ion batteries and so on. This review pointed out the structure and chemical properties of COFs, as well as new strategies to improve battery performance. Furthermore, we concluded the major challenges and future trends of COF materials in electrochemical applications. It is hoped that this review will provide meaningful guidance for the development of COFs for alkali-ion batteries.