Highly dynamic 1D coordination polymers for adsorption and separation applications

One-dimensional (1D) coordination polymers (CPs) are a class of materials with intriguing specific properties which however have been significantly overlooked, partially due to the monumental growth of research activities on their three-dimensional analogues, considered more robust and useful for applications. Here, we highlight the main advances on the use of 1D CPs for adsorption and separation purposes, focusing on larger guest molecules rather than common gaseous species (such as N2, CO2, etc…), also including CP systems capable to adsorb charged dyes or ions from aqueous solutions. Overall, in most cases, the adsorption processes here described induce quite significant structural changes in the CPs framework, which we were able to play up given the extensive X-ray characterization available. We aim to show how the dynamic properties of this class of compounds, in terms on their aptitude to respond to external chemical stimuli, is inherent with their structural features, for they are composed by robust chain-like arrays hold together by weak inter-chain interactions.