Emerging homochiral porous materials for enantiomer separation

Efficient resolution of racemates of chiral molecules is of great significance in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, fragrances, and food additives industries. Emerging homochiral porous materials such as metal–organic frameworks, covalent-organic frameworks, porous-organic cages, and metal-organic cages with ultrahigh surface area, controllable pore chemistry and ample chiral recognition sites are promising for efficient chiral resolution, which display excellent properties for chiral separation applications. This review summarizes the design and synthesis strategies for the construction of homochiral porous materials, including direct synthesis, post-synthesis, and chiral induction synthesis. Following this, applications of emerging homochiral porous materials, including enantioselective adsorption, chiral chromatography, and membrane-based chiral separation are highlighted. Finally, the challenges in this area are discussed, with future perspectives provided.