CHAPTER 13: Catalysis by Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs)

Porous covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are an emerging class of versatile materials. They provide novel possibilities for application as solid catalysts in heterogeneous catalysis due to their defined tailorable structures and surface chemistry, in combination with a high porosity. Thus, access to highly disperse catalytic centers is enabled and mass transport effects can be easily tuned. Catalytic active centers in COFs result from one of three different ways: (i) utilization of the porous frameworks as supports for metal nanoparticles or clusters with additional stabilization via coordination effects. (ii) Immobilization of molecular metal species within coordinating heteroatom moieties at well‐defined organic linkers, which is comparable to a heterogenization of homogeneous catalyst species. (iii) Intrinsic catalytic properties of metal‐free organic frameworks due to heteroatoms or defined functional groups especially in organocatalysis. In recent years many novel COF materials have been tested in various catalytic reactions proving their suitability as solid catalysts.