Synthetic strategies towards chiral coordination polymers

Abstract

• Chiral coordination polymers can be synthesised via direct or indirect methods. • Indirect methods include spontaneous resolution, chiral templating and induction. • Ligands with point chirality can be derived from various chiral pool molecules. • Other coordination polymers are built from ligands with axial or planar chirality. • Post-synthetic modification can be used to impart or unveil chirality in frameworks. Chiral coordination polymers and porous chiral MOFs have great potential as agents for enantioselective separations, sensing, and catalysis due to their well-structured internal chiral cavities. They also have physical properties that may be exploited, such as non-linear optical activity, ferroelectrics, magnetochiral dichroism, and use as chemical shift reagents. There are many ways in which chiral coordination polymers can be synthesised and the file has grown tremendously over the past two decades. In this review, we will discuss some of the main synthetic approaches that have been taken towards this fascinating class of materials. The main focus will be placed on synthetic approaches using enantiopure ligands, the route that is most likely to yield homochiral network solids. We will highlight the applications of many examples, noting how the design of the frameworks influences their application. Whilst this is a mature field, there still lies huge potential for functional chiral materials, and we aim to demonstrate areas that are ripe for exploration.