Intrareticular charge transfer regulated electrochemiluminescence of donor–acceptor covalent organic frameworks

The control of charge transfer between radical anions and cations is a promising way for decoding the emission mechanism in electrochemiluminescence (ECL) systems. Herein, a type of donor-acceptor (D-A) covalent organic framework (COF) with triphenylamine and triazine units is designed as a highly efficient ECL emitter with tunable intrareticular charge transfer (IRCT). The D-A COF demonstrates 123 folds enhancement in ECL intensity compared with its benzene-based COF with small D-A contrast. Further, the COF’s crystallinity- and protonation-modulated ECL behaviors confirm ECL dependence on intrareticular charge transfer between donor and acceptor units, which is rationalized by density functional theory. Significantly, dual-peaked ECL patterns of COFs are achieved through an IRCT mediated competitive oxidation mechanism: the coreactant-mediated oxidation at lower potential and the direct oxidation at higher potential. This work provides a new fundamental and approach to improve the ECL efficiency for designing next-generation ECL devices.