Enantioselective catalysis with homochiral metal–organic frameworks

Abstract

This tutorial review presents recent developments of homochiral metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) in enantioselective catalysis. Following a brief introduction of the basic concepts and potential virtues of MOFs in catalysis, we summarize three distinct strategies that have been utilized to synthesize homochiral MOFs. Framework stability and accessibility of the open channels to reagents are then addressed. We finally survey recent successful examples of catalytically active homochiral MOFs based on three approaches, namely, homochiral MOFs with achiral catalytic sites, incorporation of asymmetric catalysts directly into the framework, and post-synthetic modification of homochiral MOFs. Although still in their infancy, homochiral MOFs have clearly demonstrated their utility in heterogeneous asymmetric catalysis, and a bright future is foreseen for the development of practically useful homochiral MOFs in the production of optically pure organic molecules.