Synthesis, characterization, CO2 uptake and catalytic properties of a chiral Co(II)-MOF containing a thiazolidine-based linker

Chiral coordination polymers research has been recently stimulated by the increasing demand for materials for enantioselective catalysis and/or separation. Metal-Organic Frameworks containing optically active ligands have been reported in the literature in the last few years. Here we present the synthesis and characterization of a new Co(II) chiral polymer containing the optically pure (R,R)-thiazolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid (H2L): {[Co(L)(H2O)](H2O)}n. The material has been characterized through a plethora of solid-state techniques (single-crystal and powder XRD, EXAFS/XANES, CD, IR, UV-Vis). Applications in the fields of CO2 capture and in heterogeneous alkene oxidation catalysis have been exploited; the results will be presented.