Asymmetric Catalysis with Chiral Porous Metal–Organic Frameworks: Critical Issues

Abstract

Chiral metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have shown great promise as highly efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalysts in asymmetric reactions. Following a brief introduction of basic concepts and potential virtues of MOFs in catalysis, five critical issues pertinent to the fundamental understanding of MOF asymmetric catalysis are discussed: strategies to construct and sustain reagent-accessible channels, framework distortion and characterization of large open channels in MOFs, substrate diffusion through the MOF channels, the dependence of catalytic activities and stereoselectivities on MOF open channel sizes, and detailed elucidation of structure–property relationships via single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations. A perspective on further development of chiral MOF catalysts in the potential production of optically pure organic molecules is also given.