Recently, the increasing concerns regarding environmental and energy-related issues due to the use of fossil fuels have triggered extensive research on sustainable electrochemical energy storage and conversion (EESC). In this case, covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) possess a large surface area, tailorable conjugated structures, electron donating–accepting/conducting moieties, and excellent chemical and thermal stabilities. These merits make them leading candidates for EESC. However, their poor electrical conductivity impedes electron and ion conduction, leading to unsatisfactory electrochemical performances, which limit their commercial applications. Thus, to overcome these challenges, CTF-based nanocomposites and their derivatives such as heteroatom-doped porous carbons, which inherit most of the merits of pristine CTFs, lead to excellent performances in the field of EESC. In this review, initially, we briefly highlight the existing strategies for the synthesis of CTFs with application-targeted properties. Next, we review the contemporary progress of CTFs and their derivatives related to electrochemical energy storage (supercapacitors, alkali-ion batteries, lithium–sulfur batteries, etc.) and conversion (oxygen reduction/evolution reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, carbon dioxide reduction reaction, etc.). Finally, we discuss perspectives on current challenges and recommendations for the further development of CTF-based nanomaterials in burgeoning EESC research.

Attributed to the strong coupling effect between interfaces and Sn nanodots, as well as the Na ⁺ migration pathway of the interfacial adsorption–insertion mechanism, the prepared Sn/N-CNs revealed superior cycling stability.

Bifunctional comonomer 2-methylenesuccinamic acid (MLA) was designed and synthesized to prepare acrylonitrile copolymer P (AN-co-MLA) using mixed solvent polymerization as a carbon fiber precursor. The effect of monomer feed ratios on the structure and stabilization were characterized by elemental analysis (EA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), proton nuclear magnetic (¹H NMR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for the P (AN-co-MLA) copolymers. The results indicated that both the conversion and molecular weight of polymerization reduce gradually when the MLA content is increased in the feed and that bifunctional comonomer MLA possesses a larger reactivity ratio than acrylonitrile (AN). P (AN-co-MLA) shows improved stabilization compared to the PAN homopolymer and poly (acrylonitrile-acrylic acid-methacrylic acid) [P (AN-AA-MA)], showing features such as lower initiation temperature, smaller cyclic activation energy, wider exothermic peak, and a larger stabilization degree, which are due to the ionic cyclization reaction initiated by MLA, confirming that the as-prepared P (AN-co-MLA) is the potential precursor for high-performance carbon fiber.

Cobalt-modulated electronic environments in NiCoMnCuFe high-entropy alloys on RGO induce charge redistribution and optimized H* adsorption, enabling enhanced alkaline overall water splitting.

Owing to the clean and environment friendly advantages, electrochemical water splitting stands out among various hydrogen production strategies. Electrocatalysts play an important role in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Hence, Pt-(Ni_0.5Co_0.5)₂P/S-carbon fibers as electrocatalysts for highly efficient HER were prepared through the structural designing of CNF and heteroatom doping (sulfur (S) or boron (B)). First, three composites of the (Ni_0.5Co_0.5)₂P/carbon fiber ((Ni_0.5Co_0.5)₂P/CNF), (Ni_0.5Co_0.5)₂P/porous carbon fiber ((Ni_0.5Co_0.5)₂P/PCNF), and (Ni_0.5Co_0.5)₂P/hollow porous carbon fiber ((Ni_0.5Co_0.5)₂P/HPCNF) were fabricated via a facile electrospinning with a solvothermal method. (Ni_0.5Co_0.5)₂P/PCNFs showed the smallest overpotential at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² among the three structures. (Ni_0.5Co_0.5)₂P nanosheets loaded on the porous CNF with a large active surface area may expose active sites and shorten the ion transport channel. To improve the catalytic performance of (Ni_0.5Co_0.5)₂P/PCNF, Pt nanoparticles were anchored on (Ni_0.5Co_0.5)₂P/heteroatom doped-PCNF by the chemical reduction method. Pt-(Ni_0.5Co_0.5)₂P/S doped-PCNF exhibited a small overpotential of 64 mV for the HER with 74.9 mV dec⁻¹ Tafel slope and a good stability, which was attributed to the conductive S-doped PCNF facilitating electron transport, accompanying the synergistic effect between the bimetallic phosphide and Pt nanoparticles, thus providing a facile method for an efficient HER electrocatalysis.