Doping Covalent Organic Frameworks: Structural Consequences, Functional Gains, and the Crystallinity Trade-off
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Doping has emerged as an effective strategy for tailoring the electronic structure, catalytic activity, adsorption behaviour, and charge-transport properties of covalent organic frameworks (COFs). However, incorporating dopants into crystalline frameworks presents a fundamental challenge: achieving functional enhancement without compromising structural order. This review critically examines the relationship between doping strategies, dopant loading, and crystallinity preservation in COFs, emphasizing covalent framework doping, metalation, and guest encapsulation. Particular attention is given to dopant–framework interactions, lattice distortion, defect formation, and the potential emergence of loading-dependent crystallinity thresholds. Reported functional improvements across photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, energy storage, gas separation, sensing, and environmental remediation are evaluated alongside available structural evidence. The review further examines strategies for mitigating doping-induced disorder, including controlled dopant incorporation, coordination engineering, post-synthetic modification, and crystallization optimization. Importantly, the absence of standardized dopant-loading measurements and quantitative crystallinity assessments limits direct comparisons across studies and prevents the establishment of universal doping thresholds. A conceptual framework linking dopant concentration, structural integrity, and functional performance is proposed to guide systematic experimental validation. This review highlights the need for mechanistically informed doping strategies that balance functional optimization with long-range crystalline order. Keywords: Doping strategies; Crystallinity retention; Lattice distortion; Structure–property relationships; Framework stability
Author: Bankole-Ojo, Olufunsho Samuel
Institution: Crawford University
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7224124674