Functional micropore chemistry of crystalline metal complex-assembled compounds

Syntheses of new porous frameworks with specific pore size and type are of considerable interest for the appearance of zeolite-like functionalities. It is useful to take advantage of metal complex-assembled compounds because of designable frameworks, high microporosity, and flexible frameworks based on a variety of coordination geometries of metal centers and multifunctionality of bridging organic parts. Many recent reports show that the synthesis procedures are developing from serendipitious to rational level. Therefore, the micropore chemistry of metal complex-based assemblages is directed toward not only new frameworks but also functionalities such as gas and small molecule adsorption, ion exchange, heterogeneous catalysis, photo-chemical and -physical properties. For chemical and physical functionalities robustness of a framework is required even in the absence of guest molecules in the cavity. The stability is largely dependent on the structural dimensionality of the assemblages. A wide variety of structures of metal complex-based assemblages are listed and recent findings in this functional chemistry are described.