Chirality in network solids

Chirality is most often considered as a molecular property, arising either from the presence of an organic stereocentre, from restricted bond rotation leading to conformer trapping or from the arrangement of ligands around a central metal atom. Chiral solids can arise in one of two ways; firstly, and most predictably, enantiomerically pure compounds must crystallize in a chiral space group. Secondly, achiral compounds may crystallize in such a way that the arrangement of molecules in the crystal lattice makes the overall arrangement chiral. This chapter discusses the issues surrounding the synthesis of homochiral inorganic network solids, various synthetic routes towards homochiral metal-organic network solids and the practical uses of these chiral materials. It focuses on the construction of materials that contain a chiral network, either by intrinsic topology or by inclusion of chiral features in the backbone of the framework.