Differential Adaptation between Active Sites and Charge‐Transport Networks in Covalent Organic Frameworks for H 2 O 2 Photosynthesis

ABSTRACT Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are promising photocatalysts for H 2 O 2 production. However, optimizing their electronic structure to enhance oxygen activation, charge separation, and transport remains challenging. Herein, a dual‐dimensional COF platform was constructed by integrating diazine isomers, pyridazine (Dz) and pyrazine (Pz), with tunable linkage chemistries (sp 2 c‐, mix‐, and imi‐linked), enabling decoupled regulation and systematic investigation of active‐site electronic environments and framework charge‐transport behavior. Experiments and theoretical calculations revealed that N ‐heterocyclic isomers primarily govern O 2 activation configurations and oxygen reduction reaction pathways, whereas linkage chemistry mainly regulates framework charge transport. More importantly, a previously unrecognized differential adaptation mechanism is revealed: in the intrinsically asymmetric Dz systems, highly conjugated sp 2 c linkages further enhance electron delocalization and transport, maximizing photocatalytic performance and enabling sp 2 c‐COF‐Dz to achieve the highest H 2 O 2 production rate (9270 µmol h −1 g −1 ); in contrast, in the Pz systems, mixed‐linkage architectures generate localized electron‐density gradients that compensate for insufficient site polarization by disrupting electronic symmetry, resulting in higher activity than the sp 2 c‐linked COF. These findings uncover a matching relationship between active‐site electronic structures and linkage‐mediated charge transport behavior, providing a site‐framework matching principle for the rational design of high‐performance COF photocatalysts.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-10-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.79044
Primary Topic
Covalent Organic Framework Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Differential Adaptation between Active Sites and Charge‐Transport Networks in Covalent Organic Frameworks for H 2 O 2 Photosynthesis

Mingli Ye, Yaqi Cai, Shi Yali, Xiaoling Gu et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Covalent Organic Framework Applications
article

Differential Adaptation between Active Sites and Charge‐Transport Networks in Covalent Organic Frameworks for H 2 O 2 Photosynthesis

Mingli Ye, Yaqi Cai, Shi Yali, Xiaoling Gu, 牛红云, Ban Cao
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are promising photocatalysts for H 2 O 2 production. However, optimizing their electronic structure to enhance oxygen activation, charge separation, and transport remains challenging. Herein, a dual‐dimensional COF platform was constructed by integrating diazine isomers, pyridazine (Dz) and pyrazine (Pz), with tunable linkage chemistries (sp 2 c‐, mix‐, and imi‐linked), enabling decoupled regulation and systematic investigation of active‐site electronic environments and framework charge‐transport behavior. Experiments and theoretical calculations revealed that N ‐heterocyclic isomers primarily govern O 2 activation configurations and oxygen reduction reaction pathways, whereas linkage chemistry mainly regulates framework charge transport. More importantly, a previously unrecognized differential adaptation mechanism is revealed: in the intrinsically asymmetric Dz systems, highly conjugated sp 2 c linkages further enhance electron delocalization and transport, maximizing photocatalytic performance and enabling sp 2 c‐COF‐Dz to achieve the highest H 2 O 2 production rate (9270 µmol h −1 g −1 ); in contrast, in the Pz systems, mixed‐linkage architectures generate localized electron‐density gradients that compensate for insufficient site polarization by disrupting electronic symmetry, resulting in higher activity than the sp 2 c‐linked COF. These findings uncover a matching relationship between active‐site electronic structures and linkage‐mediated charge transport behavior, providing a site‐framework matching principle for the rational design of high‐performance COF photocatalysts.

Advanced Functional Materials
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), China University of Geosciences (CN), Zhejiang Shuren University (CN), Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province
Openalex Percentile: Top 28%
Covalent Organic Framework Applications
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