SwitchCOF · -Photo-switchable 2D COFs for Controlling Directional Charge Transport

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Project objective

Crystalline, photo-switchable frameworks enable the precise arrangement of functional building blocks with tuneable structural and physical properties. By permitting remote control over framework geometry, and thereby over intra- and intermolecular ordering and electronic coupling, they offer a transformative basis for advancing (opto)electronics. However, compatible framework designs that realise structural changes under illumination remain scarce, as photoswitch operation is often significantly hindered in confined spaces.SwitchCOF aims to overcome these limitations by creating crystalline frameworks whose geometries can be reversibly switched by light. The project introduces a novel strategy based on two-dimensional (2D) flexible covalent organic frameworks (COFs), incorporating photoswitches such as azo(hetero)arenes, which toggle the framework geometry between distinct states and thereby enable non-invasive spatiotemporal control over charge transport in both in-plane and out-of-plane directions.This will be achieved through three complementary approaches: employing photoswitch-modified building blocks (nodes and bridges) in flexible 2D COFs, and combining theoretical and experimental methods to elucidate directional charge transport in distinct light-induced states.SwitchCOF will advance fundamental knowledge in reticular chemistry by establishing a new paradigm for constructing light-responsive 2D COFs, and in (opto)electronics by uncovering structure–electronic coupling mechanisms through light-induced, precise control over intrinsic framework transformations.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV · MUNCHENCoordinatorGermany

Links

• View on CORDIS
• DOI: 10.3030/101275778