Electron Highways into Nanochannels of Covalent Organic Frameworks for High Electrical Conductivity and Energy Storage.

ABSTRACT

To enhance the electron transfer within the covalent organic frameworks (COFs), we obtained a nanocomposite of conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and redox-active AQ-COF by performing a facile in situ solid-state polymerization inside the nanochannels of COFs. The PEDOT chains functioned like electron highways within the nanochannels, resulting in a PEDOT@AQ-COF nanocomposite with an excellent electrical conductivity of 1.1 S cm-1 and a remarkably improved performance in faradaic energy storage. The all-organic PEDOT@AQ-COF electrode showed specific capacitance as high as 1663 F g-1 (at 1 A g-1), ultrafast charge/discharge rate performance (998 F g-1 at 500 A g-1), and excellent stability for 10 000 cycles. This research demonstrates a promising strategy for increasing the conductivity of COF-based materials and broadening their applications.