Covalent Chemistry beyond Molecules

Linking molecular building units by covalent bonds to make crystalline extended structures has given rise to metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs), thus bringing the precision and versatility of covalent chemistry beyond discrete molecules to extended structures. The key advance in this regard has been the development of strategies to overcome the “crystallization problem”, which is usually encountered when attempting to link molecular building units into covalent solids. Currently, numerous MOFs and COFs are made as crystalline materials in which the large size of the constituent units provides for open frameworks. The molecular units thus reticulated become part of a new environment where they have (a) lower degrees of freedom because they are fixed into position within the framework; (b) well-defined spatial arrangements where their properties are influenced by the intricacies of the pores; and (c) ordered patterns onto which functional groups can be covalently attached to produce chemical complexity. The notion of covalent chemistry beyond molecules is further strengthened by the fact that covalent reactions can be carried out on such frameworks, with full retention of their crystallinity and porosity. MOFs are exemplars of how this chemistry has led to porosity with designed metrics and functionality, chemically-rich sequences of information within their frameworks, and well-defined mesoscopic constructs in which nanoMOFs enclose inorganic nanocrystals and give them new levels of spatial definition, stability, and functionality.