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...