Issue 4, 2019

A highly soluble, crystalline covalent organic framework compatible with device implementation

Abstract

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have emerged as a tailor-made platform for designing next-generation two-dimensional materials. However, COFs are produced as insoluble and unprocessable solids, which precludes the preparation of thin films for optoelectronic applications. Here, we report designed synthesis of a highly soluble yet crystalline COF material through the regulation of its inter-layer interactions. The resulting COF is remarkably soluble in a variety of organic solvents and forms stable true solutions with retention of its layered structure. These unique features endow the COF with solution processability; high-quality, large-area COF films can be produced on various substrates in a high-throughput and efficient manner, with good control over the film thickness, making this material compatible with a variety of device applications. The films are electrically anisotropic; the intra-layer carrier conduction is inhibited, while the inter-layer carrier migration is outstanding, showing the highest conductivity among all reported COF materials. Our highly soluble and processable COF may open new pathways for realising high-performance COF-based optoelectronic devices with diverse functions.

Graphical abstract: A highly soluble, crystalline covalent organic framework compatible with device implementation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
25 set 2018
Accepted
22 out 2018
First published
23 out 2018
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 1023-1028

A highly soluble, crystalline covalent organic framework compatible with device implementation

L. Wang, C. Zeng, H. Xu, P. Yin, D. Chen, J. Deng, M. Li, N. Zheng, C. Gu and Y. Ma, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 1023 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC04255A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements