Dithiophenedione-Based Covalent Organic Frameworks for Supercapacitive Energy Storage

Abstract

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are organic materials with well-defined atomic arrangements, significant porosity, and tailorable chemical properties, which make them interesting for a variety of applications. In this study, we explore the synthesis of a crystalline COF based on dithiophenedione moieties in its backbone (TTT-DHTD), which has been further employed as an electrode material for supercapacitors. By comparison with a dimethoxybenzene-dithiophene-based COF (TTT-DMTD), it is shown that redox-active dithiophenedione moieties have a profound effect on the capacitance enhancement. Due to the synergistic impact of its high porosity, well-defined crystalline structure, and the presence of redox-active components, the TTT-DHTD COF exhibits both high energy storage density and long-term durability (273.3 F g–1 at 0.5 A g–1 and 163.7 F g–1 at 10 mV s–1).