Abstract
In September 2018, the First European Workshop on Metal Phosphonates Chemistry brought together some prominent researchers in the field of metal phosphonates and phosphinates with the aim of discussing past and current research efforts and identifying future directions. The scope of this perspective article is to provide a critical overview of the topics discussed during the workshop, which are divided into two main areas: synthesis and characterisation, and applications. In terms of synthetic methods, there has been a push towards cleaner and more efficient approaches. This has led to the introduction of high-throughput synthesis and mechanochemical synthesis. The recent success of metal–organic frameworks has also promoted renewed interest in the synthesis of porous metal phosphonates and phosphinates. Regarding characterisation, the main advances are the development of electron diffraction as a tool for crystal structure determination and the deployment of in situ characterisation techniques, which have allowed for a better understanding of reaction pathways. In terms of applications, metal phosphonates have been found to be suitable materials for several purposes: they have been employed as heterogeneous catalysts for the synthesis of fine chemicals, as solid sorbents for gas separation, notably CO2 capture, as materials for electrochemical devices, such as fuel cells and rechargeable batteries, and as matrices for drug delivery.
Highlights
Metal phosphonates (MPs) are a class of inorganic–organic hybrid polymeric materials built by the coordination of phosphonate ligands to metal ions, forming extended structures of various dimensionalities [1]
This is principally due to the exceptional chemical and thermal stability and high insolubility of these materials in many solvents, which can be attributed to the hard character of the phosphonate oxygen atoms and their high coordination affinity for metal atoms
Workshop on Metal Phosphonates Chemistry was held at the Energy Safety Research Institute of Swansea University and attended by several researchers in the field of MPs based in Europe
Summary
Metal phosphonates (MPs) are a class of inorganic–organic hybrid polymeric materials built by the coordination of phosphonate ligands to metal ions, forming extended structures of various dimensionalities [1]. The field of MPs chemistry has seen steady growth over the last few decades, which has been driven by the interest for applications in areas such as ion exchange [2], intercalation chemistry [3,4,5], proton conduction [6], catalysis [7], and others. This is principally due to the exceptional chemical and thermal stability and high insolubility of these materials in many solvents, which can be attributed to the hard character of the phosphonate oxygen atoms and their high coordination affinity for metal atoms. We take a look at what the future of the field might hold, trying to identify the most promising new directions for innovative research
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