Chiral metal phosphonates: assembly, structures and functions

As an important class of inorganic-organic hybrid materials, metal phosphonates can exhibit versatile structures, interesting functions and high water and thermal stabilities. Despite a large number of metal phosphonates reported in the past two decades, the development of chiral metal phosphonates is still in its infancy. This review summarizes the current status in this topical field including the synthetic strategies, the crystal structures of chiral metal phosphonates reported thus far, and their physical and chemical properties. Future challenges in this promising field are also discussed.