Usual Molecules in Unusual Environments Displaying Unusual Properties

Abstract

The design of porous solids of controlled molecular geometry for various applications is a challenge of enormous technological and scientific importance. The placing of organic molecules between the layers of certain inorganic salts leads to enduring, solid materials where the confinement induces the organic molecules to change their properties or even display new ones at the supramolecular level. Many years ago, Feynman asked the question ‘What would the properties of materials be if we could really arrange the atoms (molecules) the way we want them?’. Chemistry, Physics, Engineering and even Biology are nowadays highly intertwined in the pursuing of Feynman’s ambition. However, despite all the huge efforts and smart developments, the finding of new materials is as yet, for the time being, quite open a field that allows for many serendipity-driven discoveries. In this context, we have a relatively large experience in the building of supramolecular scaffolds based in laminar zirconium phosphate (ZrP) containing covalently bonded phosphonates. In this paper, a short review will be presented concerning our past achievements and recent progress in the synthesis of organic-inorganic materials based in layered ZrP.