Volume 137, Issue 30 e202508162
Forschungsartikel

Synergistic Effects of Nitrogen and Oxygen Active Sites in Covalent Organic Frameworks for Highly Efficient Gold Recovery

Xueling Qiao

Xueling Qiao

State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical biology, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

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Liqin Hao

Liqin Hao

State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical biology, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

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Hongxia Ren

Hongxia Ren

State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical biology, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

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En Lin

En Lin

State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical biology, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

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Jixian Wang

Jixian Wang

State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical biology, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

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Kaiyuan Wang

Kaiyuan Wang

State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical biology, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

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Prof. Peng Cheng

Prof. Peng Cheng

State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical biology, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center, Frontiers Science, Center for New Organic Matter, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

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Prof. Yao Chen

Prof. Yao Chen

State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical biology, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

Nankai International Advanced Research Institute (Shenzhen Futian), Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

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Prof. Zhenjie Zhang

Corresponding Author

Prof. Zhenjie Zhang

State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical biology, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

Nankai International Advanced Research Institute (Shenzhen Futian), Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center, Frontiers Science, Center for New Organic Matter, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 China

E-mail: [email protected]

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First published: 23 May 2025

Abstract

Developing efficient adsorbents for precious metals, especially gold recovery, necessitates the integration of multiple critical properties, including high adsorption capacity, rapid adsorption kinetics, and exceptional selectivity, posing significant scientific challenges with substantial economic and environmental implications. Herein, we report a strategy to achieve highly efficient gold adsorption through synergistic effects of nitrogen and oxygen active sites into covalent organic frameworks (COFs). Two β-ketoenamine-linked COFs (NKCOF-77 and -78) with high-density nitrogen/oxygen active sites are rationally designed and synthesized via a Michael addition-elimination reaction approach. Notably, the comprehensive gold recovery performance for NKCOF-77 is among the best in the COF field, with the third highest adsorption capacity (up to 3225 mg g−1), ultrafast adsorption kinetics (<5 min), and near-perfect selectivity (>99.9% with 10 competitive cations and anions). Moreover, the COFs show exceptional ability for gold recovery from real e-waste solutions, demonstrating tremendous practical application potential. Various experimental characterization and density functional theory calculations reveal that strategically incorporating high-density nitrogen and oxygen active sites is crucial in significantly enhancing the gold adsorption capacity. This work provides a novel strategy for designing COFs as precious metal adsorbents, highlighting their promising potential for industrial applications.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the Supporting Information of this article.

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