Crystalline Dual-Porous Covalent Triazine Frameworks as a New Platform for Efficient Electrocatalysis

Crystalline covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) have gained considerable interest in energy and catalysis owing to their well-defined nitrogen-rich pi-conjugated porosity and superior physicochemical properties, however, suffer from very limited molecular structures. Herein we report a novel solvent-free FeCl3-catalyzed polymerization of 2, 6-pyridinedicarbonitrile (DCP) to achieve the first synthesis of crystalline, dual-porous, pyridine-based CTF (Fe-CTF). The FeCl3 could not only act as a highly active Lewis acid catalyst for promoting the two-dimensional ordered polymerization of DCP monomers, but also in situ coordinate with the tridentate chelators generated between pyridine and triazine groups to yield unique Fe-N3 single-atom active sites in Fe-CTF. Abundant few-layer crystalline nanosheets (Fe-CTF NSs) could be prepared through simple ball-milling exfoliation of the bulk layered Fe-CTF and exhibited remarkable electrocatalytic performance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with a half-wave potential and onset potential up to 0.902 and 1.02 V respectively, and extraordinary Zn-air battery performance with an ultrahigh specific capacity and power density of 811 mAh g-1 and 230 mW cm-2 respectively. By combining operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy with density functional theory calculations, we revealed a dynamic and reversible evolution of Fe-N3 to Fe-N2 during the electrocatalytic process, which could further accelerate the electrocatalytic reaction. Crystalline dual-porous pyridine-based CTF with in situ generated Fe-N3 single-atom active sites has been synthesized for the first time. Benefiting from the unique structure of Fe-N3 and the dynamic reversible microenvironment of metal active centers, few-layer Fe-CTF nanosheets exhibit remarkable electrocatalytic and Zn-air battery performance.image