N-donor linker based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs): Advancement and prospects as functional materials

Abstract

The domain of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has witnessed a remarkable upsurge over the last two decades. In particular, the myriad choice of building blocks and the wide applicability of these materials have accelerated the interest both in terms of molecular-level development and research as solid-state materials for practical implementation. In the 80s and 90s of the last century, the domain of porous coordination polymers (PCPs)/metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) emerged with initial research on coordination polymers based on N-donor linkers. Thereafter several donor groups have been tried and employed, including carboxylates, azolates, phosphonates, sulfonates etc. Given the plethora of research devoted to the development of MOFs, the present review aims to focus on a sub-domain of MOFs viz. N-donor linker based MOFs, and present the recent trends based on them. Broadly, N-donor linkers can be classified into two sub-types viz. neutral and charged linkers. The present review summarizes the different structural features obtained from MOFs of both classes of the linkers. Also the compilation provides the recent trends emerging from the applications of these materials and offers future perspectives in this domain.