Recent advancements in the fabrication and properties of tailored COFs for catalytic theranostic processes, energy storage and environmental sustainability

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are innovative porous materials that have attracted significant attention because of their remarkable structural stability, adaptability, and other properties and are composed of fundamental organic building blocks interconnected by covalent bonds. In contrast to the metal bonds present in other materials, the majority of the bonds in COFs are C–C, C–N, C–O and N–N bonds, and hence, they are safer. The key characteristic properties of COFs that make them ideal materials are high porosity, large surface area, chemical stability, tunable pore size and shape, structural diversity and functionalization, among others. The functional groups of COFs are derived from the organic monomers employed in their synthesis, which influence their properties and applications. Owing to their numerous advantages, COFs show efficiency for various applications in the modern world, including photocatalysis, sensing and CO₂ reduction for to detect and eliminate harmful pollutants, energy storage applications to address the pressing need for energy conservation on a global scale without posing threats to the environment. This review explains different factors such as functional groups, active sites, dangling bonds, dimensions, porosity and synthesis methods (such as solvothermal, microwave, ionothermal, and light-induced processes), which influence the material's specificity for targeted applications. In addition, this review provides some significant novel concepts such as hemodialysis (HD), hemoperfusion (HP), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and enzyme mimetic properties for the first time. Hence, it supports the groundwork for utilizing the multifunctional potential of COFs in future investigations.