Unlocking high-performance organic cathodes:tailoring active group densities in covalent frameworks for aqueous zinc ion batteries

Aqueous zinc ion batteries(AZIBs)are a promising energy storage technology due to their cost-effectiveness and safety.Organic materials with sustainable and designable structures are of great interest as AZIBs cath-odes.However,small molecules in organic cathode materials face dissolution problems and suboptimal cycle life,whereas large molecules suffer from a low theoretical capacity due to their inert carbon skeletons.Here,we designed two covalent organic framework(COF)materials(benzoquinoxaline benzoquinone-based COF(BB-COF)and triquinoxalinylene benzoquinone-based COF(TB-COF))with the same structure and number of energy storage groups to investigate the correlation between the densities of active sites and electrochemi-cal performance.We conclude that the electrochemical behavior of organic conjugate-based energy storage materials lacks a linear correlation with active site quantity.Adjusting active site densities is crucial for mate-rial advancement.BB-COF and TB-COF with dual active sites(C=O and C=N)exhibit distinct characteristics.TB-COF,which has dense active groups,shows a high initial capacity(222 mAh g^(-1)).Conversely,BB-COF,which features a large conjugated ring diameter,presents superior rate performance and enduring cycle stability.It even maintains stable cycling for 2000 cycles at-40℃.In-situ electrochemical quartz crystal mic-robalance tests reveal the energy storage mechanism of BB-COF,in which H+storage is followed by Zn2+storage.