Fused Aromatic Network Structures as a Platform for Efficient Electrocatalysis

Abstract

Fused aromatic network (FAN) structures are a category of ordered porous polymers that permit the specific fusion of building blocks into extended porous network structures with designed skeletons and pores. One significant feature of FANs is that their structures can be tailorable with fused aromatic rings without rotatable single-bond connectivity. As a result, the geometry and space orientation of the building blocks are easily incorporated to guide the topological expansion of the architectural periodicity. The variety of building units and fused linkages make FANs a promising materials platform for constitutional outline and functional design. The stably confined spaces of FAN architectures can be extended for the exchange of photons, ions, electrons, holes, and guest molecules, and exhibit customized chemical, electrochemical and optical properties. Herein, the main progress and advances in the field of 2D and 3D FANs and their utilization as a platform to develop efficient electrocatalysts for energy conversion and storage applications are summarized.