3D Graphene Functionalized by Covalent Organic Framework Thin Film as Capacitive Electrode in Alkaline Media

Abstract

To harness the electroactivity of anthraquinone as an electrode material, a great recent effort have been invested to composite anthraquinone with carbon materials to improve the conductivity. Here we report on a noncovalent way to modify three-dimensional graphene with anthraquinone moieties through on-surface synthesis of two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks. We incorporate 2,6-diamino-anthraquinone moieties into COF through Schiff-base reaction with benzene-1,3,5-tricarbaldehyde. The synthesized COF -graphene composite exhibits large specific capacitance of 31.7 mF/cm2. Long-term galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling experiments revealed a decrease of capacitance, which was attributed to the loss of COF materials and electrostatic repulsion accumulated during charge–discharge circles which result in the poor electrical conductivity between 2D COF layers.