Photoassisted synthesis
of value-added organic products has developed
greatly in the last decades in response to the pressing need for a
transition toward sustainable processes and renewable energy. One
of the formidable challenges of the light-induced chemical steps is
provided by the control of the catalytic efficiency and selectivity
under photocatalytic conditions. An attractive perspective is foreseen
by triggering the photoreaction events in confined spaces, wherein
light harvesting and photocatalytic units are framed into functional
architectures. Division of tasks among specialized compartments responds
to a bioinspired strategy with the final aim to orchestrate the rate
of concurrent and sequential events, to maximize performance while
directing the reaction selectivity. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs)
are a class of emerging materials that can meet these requirements,
with the potential to bridge the existing gap between molecular and
heterogeneous photocatalysis. Here, a rich pool of molecular building
blocks and chemical linkages is available to afford crystalline porous
solids with tailored photophysical properties emerging from the interconnected
COF structure walls, while catalytic cofactors can be provided by
engineering of the pore surface. In this Perspective, we highlight
recent developments where COFs have been successfully employed as
photocatalysts for selective organic transformations. The relationship
between the COF reticular structure and its photocatalytic behavior
is discussed, in terms of the light-conversion pathways and photoredox
events, including electron and/or energy transfer mechanisms. The
possible role of confinement effects, intrinsic in long-range order
porous COF materials, remains largely unexplored in photocatalytic
applications. New progress is expected to arise from close interdisciplinary
cooperation involving synthetic chemistry and materials science communities.