Syntheses, structures and properties of three chiral metal–organic coordination polymers based on (R)-4-(4-(1-carboxyethoxy)phenoxy)-3-nitrobenzoic acid

Chiral metal-organic frameworks for photonics

Recently, there has been significant interest in the use of chiral metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and coordination polymers (CPs) for photonics applications. The promise of these materials lies in the ability to tune their properties through judicious selection of the metal and ligand components. Additionally, the interaction of guest species with the host framework can be exploited to realise new functionalities. In this review, we outline the methods for synthesising chiral MOFs and CPs, then analyse the recent innovations in their use for various optical and photonics applications. We focus on two emerging directions in the field of MOF chemistry - circularly polarised luminescence (CPL) and chiroptical switching - as well as the latest developments in the use of these materials for second-order nonlinear optics (NLO), particularly second-harmonic generation (SHG). The current challenges encountered so far, their possible solutions, and key directions for further research are also outlined. Overall, given the results demonstrated to date, chiral MOFs and CPs show great promise for use in future technologies such as optical communication and computing, optical displays, and all-optical devices.

Three pairs of luminescent coordination polymers based on CoII and CdII clusters for the detection of antibiotics, pesticides and chiral nitro aromatic compounds

Three couples of coordination polymers (CPs), namely, [Co((R/S)-Hcna)₂]_n (1-D/L), [Cd₆((1R,2R/1S,2S)-cpba)₄(phen)₆(H₂O)₃]_n (2-D/L) and [Cd₂((1R,2R/1S,2S)-Hcpba)₂(phen)₂]_n (3-D/L) {(R/S)-H₂cna = (R/S)-6-(1-carboxyethoxy)-2-naphthoic acid, (1R,2R/1S,2S)-H₃cpba = (1R,2R/1S,2S)-2,2′-((5-carboxy-1,3-phenylene)bis(oxy))dipropionic acid, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline} are successfully synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. Structural analysis shows that CP 1 has a 3D 3,6-c net structure with a point symbol of (4·6²)₂(4²·6¹⁰·8³). CPs 2 and 3 are obtained under very similar reaction conditions except using different solvent ratios. The presence of the planar chelating ligand phen in CPs 2 and 3 limited the spatial growth of the structure, resulting in the formation of different 1D structures. All CPs crystallized in the chiral space group P2₁, CPs 1–3 are all SHG active. Their luminescence sensing activities for organics such as antibiotics, pesticides and nitro aromatics are also investigated. The results showed that CP 1 can effectively identify trace amounts of nitrofurans (NFs) and CP 3 has obvious recognition ability toward nitrofurans (NFs) and nitroimidazoles (NMs). Both CPs 1 and 3 could selectively detect 2,6-dichloro-4-nitroaniline (DCN). The luminescence of CPs 1 and 3 can also be quenched by (D/L)-4-nitrophenylalanine ((D/L)-NPA) and (1R,2R/1S,2S)-2-amino-1-(4-nitrophenyl)propane-1,3-diol ((1R,2R/1S,2S)-ANPO).

Three pairs of luminescent coordination polymers based on (R/S)-H₂cna and (1R,2R/1S,2S)-H₃cpba for the detection of antibiotics, pesticides and chiral nitro aromatic compounds.