Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have emerged as an exciting new class of porous materials constructed by organic building blocks via dynamic covalent bonds. They have been extensively explored as potentially superior candidates for electrode materials, electrolytes, and separators, due to their tunable chemistry, tailorable structures, and well‐defined pores. These features enable rational design of targeted functionalities, facilitate the penetration of electrolytes, and enhance ion transport. This review provides an in‐depth summary of the recent progress in the development of COFs for diverse battery applications, including lithium‐ion, lithium–sulfur, sodium‐ion, potassium‐ion, lithium–CO2, zinc‐ion, zinc–air batteries, etc. This comprehensive synopsis pays particular attention to the structure and chemistry of COFs and novel strategies that have been implemented to improve battery performance. Additionally, current challenges, possible solutions, and potential future research directions on COFs for batteries are discussed, laying the groundwork for future advances for this exciting class of material.

Optimization of the double network structure of liquid crystal elastomers enables complex shape programming.

Hunger and chronic undernourishment impact over 800 million people, which translates to ≈10.7% of the world's population. While countries are increasingly making efforts to reduce poverty and hunger by pursuing sustainable energy and agricultural practices, a third of the food produced around the globe still is wasted and never consumed. Reducing food shortages is vital in this effort and is often addressed by the development of genetically modified produce or chemical additives and inedible coatings, which create additional health and environmental concerns. Herein, a multifunctional bio‐nanocomposite comprised largely of egg‐derived polymers and cellulose nanomaterials as a conformal coating onto fresh produce that slows down food decay by retarding ripening, dehydration, and microbial invasion is reported. The coating is edible, washable, and made from readily available inexpensive or waste materials, which makes it a promising economic alternative to commercially available fruit coatings and a solution to combat food wastage that is rampant in the world.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are crystalline organic materials of interest for a wide range of applications due to their porosity, tunable architecture, and precise chemistry. However, COFs are typically produced in powder form and are difficult to process. Herein, we report a simple and versatile approach to fabricate macroscopic, crystalline COF gels and aerogels. Our method involves the use of dimethyl sulfoxide as a solvent and acetic acid as a catalyst to first produce a COF gel. The COF gel is then washed, dried, and reactivated to produce a pure macroscopic, crystalline, and porous COF aerogel that does not contain any binders or additives. We tested this approach for six different imine COFs and found that the crystallinities and porosities of the COF aerogels matched those of COF powders. Electron microscopy revealed a robust hierarchical pore structure, and we found that the COF aerogels could be used as absorbents in oil–water separations, for the removal of organic and inorganic micropollutants, and for the capture and retention of iodine. This study provides a versatile and simple approach for the fabrication of COF aerogels and will provide novel routes for incorporating COFs in applications that require macroscopic, porous materials.