A study of contemporary progress relating to COF materials for CO2 capture and fixation reactions

Abstract

Global warming is a great threat to the very survival of our planet. Among the different greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is pre-eminently responsible for the occurrence of global warming. Therefore, to overcome this problem, covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been developed as a new class of multifunctional crystalline organic catalyst constructed from organic monomers via robust covalent bonds. COF materials could be used for the chemical fixation of CO₂ with different organic molecules to synthesize various valuable chemicals. The specific surface area of the covalent organic framework plays a vital role in the catalytic performance of a COF during chemical conversion involving CO₂. The incorporation of various metals, such as Pd, Cu, Ag, and Ni, into a COF material can enhance its catalytic efficacy during carbon dioxide fixation reactions. Basically, a Schiff base reaction between an amine and aldehyde can result in the formation of a cyclic COF, e.g., TFPB–TAPB-COF, TFPA–TAPB-COF, BTMA–TAPA-COF, and TFPA–TAPA-COF, as reported by Donglin Jiang et al. Different kinds of valuable chemicals have been synthesized using these COFs, such as cyclic carbonates, oxazolidinones, N-formylated products, formic acid, formaldehyde, and methanol. In this review paper, we present recent advances in this area, including the development of various types of COFs and their application as catalysts for different types of CO₂ fixation reactions. Herein we mainly describe synthesis schemes, some important characterization information (specifically N₂-BET and XRD data), and examples of CO₂ fixation reactions performed using these previously reported COFs. The excellent CO₂ absorption capacities of COFs make them tremendous catalysts for CO₂ conversion, and they can act as CO₂ storage materials.