A Carboxyl-Functionalized Covalent Organic Framework Synthesized in a Deep Eutectic Solvent for Dye Adsorption

Novel three-dimensional fibrous covalent organic frameworks constructed via silver amalgam bridging for efficient organic dye adsorption and removal

The construction of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with unique structures has great significance in exploring the structure-function relationship and extending their potential applications. Fibrous COFs have demonstrated superior performance in specific application scenarios owing to the distinctive three-dimensional (3D) structure. Herein, we report a facile strategy for the fabrication of 3D COF nanofiber by exploiting silver amalgam as a bridging agent to assemble one-dimensional-extended PA-COF modules into a tubular structure. Dimensions of the obtained 3D COF nanofiber were predicted by DFT calculations, and the nanofiber was endowed with the merits of favorable uniformity and high stability. Due to the enhanced exposure of conjugatable binding sites for dye retention offered by the novel 3D architecture, the PA-COF nanofiber exhibits fast adsorption (within 5 min) and superior adsorption capacity to various organic dyes, e.g., 1717 mg g-1 for methylene blue (MB) and 978.3 mg g-1 for methyl orange (MO). Moreover, the PA-COF nanofiber shows excellent reusability in dye adsorption, which makes it a potential medium for removing dye pollutants from wastewater. This work presents an effective strategy to construct COF materials with unique architecture and potential prospects in the fields of separation and wastewater treatment.

A Water-Stable Boronate Ester Cage

The reversible condensation of catechols and boronic acids to boronate esters is a paradigm reaction in dynamic covalent chemistry. However, facile backward hydrolysis is detrimental for stability and has so far prevented applications for boronate-based materials. Here, we introduce cubic boronate ester cages 6 derived from hexahydroxy tribenzotriquinacenes and phenylene diboronic acids with ortho-t-butyl substituents. Due to steric shielding, dynamic exchange at the Lewis acidic boron sites is feasible only under acid or base catalysis but fully prevented at neutral conditions. For the first time, boronate ester cages 6 tolerate substantial amounts of water or alcohols both in solution and solid state. The unprecedented applicability of these materials under ambient and aqueous conditions is showcased by efficient encapsulation and on-demand release of β-carotene dyes and heterogeneous water oxidation catalysis after the encapsulation of ruthenium catalysts.

TiO2@COF-based solid-phase microextraction combined with UHPLC-MS/MS for the rapid determination of potential biomarkers of phosphatidylcholines and lysophosphatidylcholines in head and neck cancers

Phosphatidylcholine (PC) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), two types of phospholipids (PLs), have been reported to be closely correlated with head and neck cancers of laryngeal cancer (LC) and thyroid cancer (TC), which make their analysis crucial. TiO2@COF-based solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to UHPLC-MS/MS was developed for the rapid and accurate detection of seven potential PL biomarkers from small amounts of serum in this work. The combination of TiO2 and COF proves to be effective for the extraction of the target analytes. Under optimal conditions, the developed TiO2@COF-based SPME-UHPLC-MS/MS method revealed good linearity (R2 ≥ 0.997) with LODs ranging from 0.05 to 0.38 ng/mL for PLs, the extraction recoveries and matrix effects ranging from 83.09-112.03% and 85.38-113.67%, respectively. As a high-throughput pretreatment method, satisfactory probe-to-probe reproducibility rates of 2.7-10.1% were obtained. Finally, the TiO2@COF-based SPME-UHPLC-MS/MS method was applied to analyze LPC 14:0, LPC 16:0, LPC 18:0, LPC 18:1, LPC 19:0, PC 16:0/18:1, and PC 18:0 in serum samples from early LC patients (n = 15), early TC patients (n = 15), and healthy volunteers (n = 15). The results indicated that cancer patients could be effectively differentiated from healthy controls using orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). In conclusion, the established TiO2@COF-based SPME-UHPLC-MS/MS method is reliable for the rapid determination of the seven PLs in serum samples, which is promising for early diagnosis of head and neck cancers.

A novel cationic covalent organic framework as adsorbent for simultaneous removal of methyl orange and hexavalent chromium

The simultaneous removal of toxic, carcinogenic organic dyes and metal ions from water by one material offers significant advantages when fast, facile, and robust water purification is required. Ionic covalent organic frameworks (ICOFs) have the combined properties of COFs and ion exchange resins and are expected to achieve simultaneous capture of heavy metal ions and organic dyes from water. Herein, a novel guanidinium-based ICOF was synthesized using a solvothermal method. Benefitting from the cationic character, porosity and nanoscale pore size of ICOFs, the adsorbent exhibited high simultaneous adsorption capacities of 290 mg g-1 and 158 mg g-1 for methyl orange (MO) and Cr(vi), respectively, and retained more than 90% adsorption capacity after six adsorption-desorption cycles. In addition, based on dual control of size-exclusion and charge-selection, precisely selective adsorption is achieved towards diverse mixed anionic and cationic pollutants. This strategy offers a practical solution for COFs to confront environmental pollution issues.

A carboxyl-functionalized covalent organic polymer for the efficient adsorption of saxitoxin

Saxitoxin (STX), the most widely distributed neurotoxin in marine waters and emerging cyanotoxin of concern in freshwaters, causes paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans upon consumption of contaminated shellfish. To allow for the efficient monitoring of this biotoxin, it is of high importance to find high-affinity materials for its adsorption. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a covalent organic polymer for the efficient adsorption of STX. Two β-keto-enamine-based materials were prepared by self-assembly of 2,4,6-triformylphloroglucinol (Tp) with 2,5-diaminobenzoic acid (Pa-COOH) to give TpPa-COOH and with 2,5-diaminotoluene (Pa-CH₃) to give TpPa-CH₃. The carboxylic acid functionalized TpPa-COOH outperformed the methyl-bearing counterpart TpPa-CH₃ by an order of magnitude despite the higher long-range order and surface area of the latter. The adsorption of STX by TpPa-COOH was fast with equilibrium reached within 1 h, and the Langmuir adsorption model gave a calculated maximum adsorption capacity, Q_m, of 5.69 mg g^-1, making this material the best reported adsorbent for this toxin. More importantly, the prepared TpPa-COOH also showed good reusability and high recovery rates for STX in natural freshwater, thereby highlighting the material as a good candidate for the extraction and pre-concentration of STX from aquatic environments.

Design Strategy and Application of Deep Eutectic Solvents for Green Synthesis of Nanomaterials

The first report of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) was released in 2003 and was identified as a new member of ionic liquid (IL), involving innovative chemical and physical characteristics. Using green solvent technology concerning economical, practical, and environmental aspects, DESs open the window for sustainable development of nanomaterial fabrication. The DESs assist in different fabrication processes and design nanostructures with specific morphology and properties by tunable reaction conditions. Using DESs in synthesis reactions can reduce the required high temperature and pressure conditions for decreasing energy consumption and the risk of environmental contamination. This review paper provides the recent applications and advances in the design strategy of DESs for the green synthesis of nanomaterials. The strategy and application of DESs in wet-chemical processes, nanosize reticular material fabrication, electrodeposition/electrochemical synthesis of nanostructures, electroless deposition, DESs based nano-catalytic and nanofluidic systems are discussed and highlighted in this review.

Highly selective adsorption of rare earth elements by honeycomb-shaped covalent organic frameworks synthesized in deep eutectic solvents

One of the key factors to obtain a highly pure individual rare earth element (REE) is to prepare adsorbents with high selectivity and adsorption capacity. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), which encompass a variety of properties, including regular/tunable pore size, high specific surface area and easy functionalization, could be effective as adsorbents for separating rare earth elements (REEs). In this paper, TpPa COFs were successfully synthesized using an eco-friendly deep eutectic solvent (DES) as the reaction medium instead of toxic organic solvents at room temperature. TpPa COFs have a good separation effect on the nine REEs investigated in this work. Among them, the separation factors (β) of Eu/Yb, Eu/Tm and Eu/La are 15.34, 14.70 and 10.78, respectively, indicating that the TpPa COFs have good separation performance. Further discoveries showed that the adsorption and separation mechanism of the TpPa COFs for REEs in this experiment may be due to the coordination of REE ions with O to form a stable structure. This study blazed a trial for a green and facile synthesis strategy of TpPa COFs and expanded its implementation as a solid adsorbent in the separation of REEs.

A mussel-pearl side chain interaction in mercury(II) and phenol removal by sulfur-functionalized covalent organic frameworks: A DFT study

The covalent organic framework materials (COFs) with excellent chemical and physical characteristics have been rapidly developed as adsorbents in the application of environmental remediation. In the design of COFs, the selection of functional groups and side chains is of great significance. Herein, density function theory (DFT) method is used to illustrate the adsorption behavior and mechanism of three sulfur-functionalized COFs (S-COFs) for the adsorption of mercury(II) and phenol. According to the analysis of geometric configurations and electronic properties, it demonstrated that the side chains of S-COFs with high flexibility and concentrated sulfur-functional groups, acting like a closed mussel which tightly confined the contaminants, the highest adsorption was -24.32 kcal/mol. The adsorption mechanism of phenol and mercury(II) on S-COFs was elucidated. For phenol, hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking interaction played an important role in the adsorption process, while the coordination interaction was dominated for the adsorption of mercury(II). This research explains the importance of selecting appropriate functional groups and side chains for COFs in the removal of contaminants in the molecular scale, and reveals the great potential of COFs in environmental remediation applications.

Metalated covalent organic frameworks: from synthetic strategies to diverse applications

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a class of organic crystalline porous materials discovered in the early 21st century that have become an attractive class of emerging materials due to their high crystallinity, intrinsic porosity, structural regularity, diverse functionality, design flexibility, and outstanding stability. However, many chemical and physical properties strongly depend on the presence of metal ions in materials for advanced applications, but metal-free COFs do not have these properties and are therefore excluded from such applications. Metalated COFs formed by combining COFs with metal ions, while retaining the advantages of COFs, have additional intriguing properties and applications, and have attracted considerable attention over the past decade. This review presents all aspects of metalated COFs, from synthetic strategies to various applications, in the hope of promoting the continued development of this young field.

Pyrazine-cored covalent organic frameworks for efficient CO2 adsorption and removal of organic dyes

The rational introduction of nitrogen heterocycles to a linker of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) can effectively capture CO2 and remove dyes in sewage. Here we report the designed synthesis of...

Organic Dyes versus Adsorption Processing

Even in the first quarter of the XXI century, the presence of organic dyes in wastewaters was a normal occurrence in a series of countries. As these compounds are toxic, their removal from these waters is a necessity. Among the separation technologies, adsorption processing appeared as one of the most widely used to reach this goal. The present work reviewed the most recent approaches (first half of the 2021 year) regarding the use of a variety of adsorbents in the removal of a variety of organic dyes of different natures.

On-Surface Bottom-Up Construction of COF Nanoshells towards Photocatalytic H2 Production

The rational design of an outer shell is of great significance to promote the photocatalytic efficiency of core-shell structured photocatalysts. Herein, a covalent organic framework (COF) nanoshell was designed and deposited on the cadmium sulfide (CdS) core surface. A typical COF material, TPPA, featuring exceptional stability, was synthesized through interfacial polymerization using 1, 3, 5-triformylphloroglucinol (TP) and p-phenylenediamine (PA) as monomers. The nanoshell endows the CdS@TPPA nanosphere with ordered channels for unimpeded light-harvesting and fast diffusion of reactants/products and well-defined modular building blocks for spatially charge separation. Moreover, the heterojunction formed between CdS and TPPA can further facilitate the effective charge separation at the interface via lower exciton binding energy compared with that of pristine TPPA. By modulating the thickness of TPPA nanoshell, the CdS@TPPA nanosphere photocatalyst with the nanoshell thickness of about 8 ± 1 nm exhibits the highest photocatalytic H₂ evolution of 194.1 μmol h⁻¹ (24.3 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, 8 mg), which is superior to most of the reported COF-based photocatalysts. The framework nanoshell in this work may stimulate the thinking about how to design advanced shell architecture in the core-shell structured photocatalysts to achieve coordinated charge and molecule transport.

Chiral Carboxyl-Functionalized Covalent Organic Framework for Enantioselective Adsorption of Amino Acids

Combining chiral molecules and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with ordered pores can result in chiral COFs, which may be employed in the fields of chiral chemistry. In this study, we constructed a novel carboxyl-functionalized COF TpBD-3COOH first and then integrated a chiral molecule, heptakis (6-amino-6-deoxy)-β-CD (Am7CD), into TpBD-3COOH to obtain TpBD-Am7CD. Comparing TpBD-3COOH with TpBD-Am7CD, it could be observed that chiral selectivities improved significantly after decorating TpBD-3COOH with Am7CD in the adsorption experiment. Meanwhile, TpBD-Am7CD exhibited similar chiral selective abilities as the previously reported β-CD COF when it was employed to adsorb amino acid enantiomers, while the content of Am7CD was much less than that in β-CD COF. This indicated that the framework of TpBD-3COOH enhanced the chiral selective ability of Am7CD, which would be a great chiral carrier material for further application. This work provides a new insight for establishing materials for application in the chiral recognition field. Besides, TpBD-Am7CD resulted in an insoluble powder, which endowed this material with the possibility to be an adsorbent and a stationary phase in chromatography.

Deep eutectic solvents for the preparation and post-synthetic modification of metal- and covalent organic frameworks

The use of deep eutectic solvents (DES) as media for the preparation of metal- and covalent organic frameworks (MOFs and COFs) and their post-synthetic modification towards composites is reviewed.