journal article·2026-02Open access

Methylation‐Induced Permanent Charge Polarization in Covalent Organic Frameworks for Visible Light‐Driven Water Decontamination and Disinfection

Xuewen Peng, Huaji Pang, Niu Feng, Dekang Huang, Chunpeng Jiao, Jingbin Zeng, Yonggang Xiang, Yiping Chen

Advanced Science· Volume 13· Issue 12

Abstract

Abstract Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) show promise for photocatalytic environmental remediation and antibacterial applications; however, their efficiency is often constrained by strong excitonic effects that impede charge separation. Here, a targeted in situ methylation strategy is reported to engineer permanent cationic centers within a robust non‐substituted quinoline‐linked COF (NQ‐COF S1 ). Methyl grafting at the nitrogen sites generates quaternary ammonium groups, inducing pronounced local charge polarization and a strong built‐in electric field. This modification drastically reduces the exciton binding energy from 41 to 33 meV, thereby promoting highly efficient charge separation. In synergy with electron‐rich thiophene units, the resulting NQ‐COF S1 ‐Me exhibits outstanding photocatalytic activity, characterized by strong reactive oxygen species generation. It achieves > 95% inactivation of Gram‐positive, Gram‐negative, and drug‐resistant bacteria within 10 min, and 96.84% degradation of chloramphenicol—38.72 times faster than NQ‐COF S1 . These findings demonstrate that methylation‐induced permanent charge polarization offers a powerful strategy for developing high‐performance photocatalytic COFs with broad potential in environmental and public health applications.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Covalent Organic Framework Applications · Advanced oxidation water treatment · Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

College of Food Science and Technology Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan 430070 China

State Key Laboratory of Marine Food Processing and Safety Control Dalian Polytechnic University Dalian 116034 China

College of Chemistry Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan 430070 China

PhiChem Corporation Shanghai 201900 China

College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing China University of Petroleum (East China) Qingdao 266580 China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China

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