Have Covalent Organic Framework Films Revealed Their Full Potential?

Porous organic polymers provide high accessible surface areas, which make them attractive for gas storage, separation, and catalysis. In addition to those classical usage areas, such compounds are particularly interesting for electronic applications since their high dimensional, electron-rich backbone provides advanced electronic and photophysical properties. However, their non-soluble nature is a challenge for their processability, especially in the case of film formation, hence their limited utilization in organic electronic devices so far. Nevertheless, there are several techniques presented in the literature to overcome that issue, most of which were on the crystalline porous organic polymers, namely covalent organic frameworks (COFs). In this perspective, the developments on COF film formation and prospects for the improvements are discussed with suggestions to further their performances in organic electronics.