Performance enhancement strategies for lithium-based battery electrodes via covalent organic frameworks: A review of recent advances

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are crystalline, porous materials with tunable architecture, large surface area, and abundant chemical functionalities. These characteristics enable them auspicious candidates for next-generation lithium-based energy storage systems. This review systematically explores recent advances in the applications of COFs across three major energy storage devices: lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), lithium-air batteries (LABs), and lithium-metal batteries (LMBs). For each device, we examine how COFs have been leveraged to address intrinsic limitations in cathodes, anodes, and performance enhancement through diverse design strategies. These include the integration of redox-active sites, the integration of carbon-based nanostructures, linkage transformation, COF-metal organic framework (MOF) coordination strategies, and an on-demand molecular trap strategy. COF-based materials also serve as oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen evolution reaction (ORR/OER) catalysts, gas diffusion layers (GDLs), artificial interface layers, functional separators, and protective layers. These tactics help suppress dendrite formation, dead lithium, parasitic reactions, while facilitating stable lithium-ion transport and enhancing the electrode performance. Collectively, these approaches have yielded significant achievements in capacity retention, rate performance, and safety. This comprehensive overview not only summarizes recent advances but also highlights key challenges and emerging directions in COFs chemistry to guide the rational development of high-performance lithium batteries.