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In this Feature Article, we survey the advances made in the field of fulleretic materials over the last five years. Merging the intriguing characteristics of fulleretic molecules with hierarchical materials can lead to enhanced properties of the latter for applications in optoelectronic, biomaterial, and heterogeneous catalysis sectors. As there has been significant growth in the development of fullerene- and corannulene-containing materials, this article will focus on studies performed during the last five years exclusively, and highlight the recent trends in designing fulleretic compounds and understanding their properties, that has enriched the repertoire of carbon-rich functional materials. 

Unprecedented one-step CC bond cleavage leading to opening of the buckybowl (π-bowl), that could provide access to carbon-rich structures with previously inaccessible topologies, is reported; highlighting the possibility to implement drastically different synthetic routes to π-bowls in contrast to conventional ones applied for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Through theoretical modeling, we evaluated the mechanistic pathways feasible for π-bowl planarization and factors that could affect such a transformation including strain and released energies. Through employment of Marcus theory, optical spectroscopy, and crystallographic analysis, we estimated the possibility of charge transfer and electron coupling between “open” corannulene and a strong electron acceptor such as 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane. Alternative to a one-pot solid-state corannulene “unzipping” route, we reported a nine-step solution-based approach for preparation of novel planar “open” corannulene-based derivatives in which electronic structures and photophysical profiles were estimated through the energies and isosurfaces of the frontier natural transition orbitals. 

Metal node engineering in combination with modularity, topological diversity, and porosity of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) could advance energy and optoelectronic sectors. In this study, we focus on MOFs with multinuclear heterometallic nodes for establishing metal−property trends, i.e. , connecting atomic scale changes with macroscopic material properties by utilization of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, conductivity measurements, X-ray photoelectron and diffuse reflectance spectroscopies, and density functional theory calculations. The results of Bader charge analysis and studies employing the Voronoi–Dirichlet partition of crystal structures are also presented. As an example of frameworks with different nodal arrangements, we have chosen MOFs with mononuclear, binuclear, and pentanuclear nodes, primarily consisting of first-row transition metals, that are incorporated in HHTP-, BTC-, and NIP-systems, respectively (HHTP 3− = triphenylene-2,3,6,7,10,11-hexaone; BTC 3− = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate; and NIP 2− = 5-nitroisophthalate). Through probing framework electronic profiles, we demonstrate structure–property relationships, and also highlight the necessity for both comprehensive analysis of trends in metal properties, and novel avenues for preparation of heterometallic multinuclear isoreticular structures, which are critical components for on-demand tailoring of properties in heterometallic systems. 

Materials with dynamically controlled electronic structures (i.e., upon external stimuli) are at the forefront of the renewable energy sector with applications as memory devices, smart supercapacitors, programmable solar cells, and field‐effect transistors. Moreover, their continued development as device components is critical for the field of optoelectronics since their performance is comparable, or could even surpass, the current benchmarks. Adaptive electronic properties are the main focus of this review that discusses recent developments in the modulation of electronic behavior that can be tuned using external stimuli in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent–organic frameworks (COFs), primarily inorganic hybrids, polymers, and graphitic‐type materials. Triggers to achieve “dynamic” behavior discussed within this manuscript are primarily light‐based switches that include different classes of photochromic molecules such as naphthalene diimide, viologen, diarylethene, azobenzene, and spiropyran. The effect of material dimensionality and photoswitch connectivity achieved through integration of photochromic moieties inside 0D, 1D, 2D, and 3D hybrid matrices is discussed. This review showcases the prospects of advancing the material and energy landscapes through employment of structural motifs with adaptive electronic structures occurring as a function of their dimensionality and connectivity.

 

Confinement‐imposed photophysics was probed for novel stimuli‐responsive hydrazone‐based compounds demonstrating a conceptual difference in their behavior within 2D versus 3D porous matrices for the first time. The challenges associated with photoswitch isomerization arising from host interactions with photochromic compounds in 2D scaffolds could be overcome in 3D materials. Solution‐like photoisomerization rate constants were realized for sterically demanding hydrazone derivatives in the solid state through their coordinative immobilization in 3D scaffolds. According to steady‐state and time‐resolved photophysical measurements and theoretical modeling, this approach provides access to hydrazone‐based materials with fast photoisomerization kinetics in the solid state. Fast isomerization of integrated hydrazone derivatives allows for probing and tailoring resonance energy transfer (ET) processes as a function of excitation wavelength, providing a novel pathway for ET modulation.

 

Confinement‐imposed photophysics was probed for novel stimuli‐responsive hydrazone‐based compounds demonstrating a conceptual difference in their behavior within 2D versus 3D porous matrices for the first time. The challenges associated with photoswitch isomerization arising from host interactions with photochromic compounds in 2D scaffolds could be overcome in 3D materials. Solution‐like photoisomerization rate constants were realized for sterically demanding hydrazone derivatives in the solid state through their coordinative immobilization in 3D scaffolds. According to steady‐state and time‐resolved photophysical measurements and theoretical modeling, this approach provides access to hydrazone‐based materials with fast photoisomerization kinetics in the solid state. Fast isomerization of integrated hydrazone derivatives allows for probing and tailoring resonance energy transfer (ET) processes as a function of excitation wavelength, providing a novel pathway for ET modulation.

 

The efficient delivery of reactive and toxic gaseous reagents to organic reactions was studied using metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs). The simultaneous cargo vehicle and catalytic capabilities of several MOFs were probed for the first time using the examples of aromatization, aminocarbonylation, and carbonylative Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions. These reactions highlight that MOFs can serve a dual role as a gas cargo vehicle and a catalyst, leading to product formation with yields similar to reactions employing pure gases. Furthermore, the MOFs can be recycled without sacrificing product yield, while simultaneously maintaining crystallinity. The reported findings were supported crystallographically and spectroscopically (e.g., diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy), foreshadowing a pathway for the development of multifunctional MOF‐based reagent‐catalyst cargo vessels for reactive gas reagents as an attractive alternative to the use of toxic pure gases or gas generators.

 

The efficient delivery of reactive and toxic gaseous reagents to organic reactions was studied using metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs). The simultaneous cargo vehicle and catalytic capabilities of several MOFs were probed for the first time using the examples of aromatization, aminocarbonylation, and carbonylative Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions. These reactions highlight that MOFs can serve a dual role as a gas cargo vehicle and a catalyst, leading to product formation with yields similar to reactions employing pure gases. Furthermore, the MOFs can be recycled without sacrificing product yield, while simultaneously maintaining crystallinity. The reported findings were supported crystallographically and spectroscopically (e.g., diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy), foreshadowing a pathway for the development of multifunctional MOF‐based reagent‐catalyst cargo vessels for reactive gas reagents as an attractive alternative to the use of toxic pure gases or gas generators.