Photoactive and Conducting Covalent Organic Frameworks

Hierarchical functional materials with properties encoded for a defined functionality such as light-induced charge separation are highly desirable targets of numerous synthetic efforts. In the field of reticular chemistry, 2D covalent organic frameworks are an emerging class of porous and crystalline materials obtained by bottom-up condensation of molecular building blocks assisted by non-bonding interactions. In this research news article, an overview is provided on newly emerging photoactive and conducting 2D covalent organic frameworks, sketching the creative trajectory from subunit design strategies to framework construction and resulting functionalities.