Heterogeneous nucleation and growth of highly crystalline imine-linked covalent organic frameworks

A heterogeneous nucleation and growth method is reported to synthesize imine-linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs). Excellent crystallinity and a high surface area are obtained. The introduction of heterogeneous nuclei suppresses the fast precipitation of amorphous structures at the early stage while promoting the crystallization of COFs during the growth process. A heterogeneous nucleation and growth method was established to conveniently synthesize highly crystalline imine-linked COFs.