Porous materials shed light on environmental purification

During the last two decades, porous materials such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks have drawn the attention of the scientific community due to the wide range of applications derived from their porosity. Recently, a new class of all organic materials has emerged – the hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs). These crystalline materials rely on two types of non-covalent interactions – π-π interactions that form the vertical stack, and hydrogen-bonding interactions that provide the order and stability between the molecular units. The combination of these interactions allows assembly of specifically designed molecular units to obtain ordered crystalline structures enabling the development of materials with tunable chemical and physical properties.