Enantioselective separation in humid conditions by chiral Hofmann Clathrates: new opportunities for vintage materials

Chiral separation is of critical importance in many areas spanning from pharmaceutics and agriculture to catalysis. Coordination polymers and Metal-Organic Frameworks have been envisaged for such purpose. In this study, the post-synthetic functionalization of the bidimensional Hofmann clathrate [Ni(H2O)2][Ni(CN)4] by enantiopure phenylethylamines yielding hydrostable chiral clathrates is reported. In the case of (R) and (S) butan-2-ol, we demonstrate that the obtained coordination frameworks exhibit clear enantioselective properties, which can be used for the separation of enantiomers in humid conditions.