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Updated: Jan 18, 2026

Author Spotlight: Accelerating Discovery in Microporous Material Chemistry
Published on: October 6, 2023
Chiral Phosphoric Acid-Functionalized Three-Dimensional Covalent Organic Frameworks with Exceptional Chemical
Mengsi Li1, Peiyi Duan1, Lin Li1,2
1College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
Abstract:
The design of three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (3D COFs) incorporating chiral phosphoric acids represents a promising strategy to enhance enantioselectivity in asymmetric catalysis while providing good framework stability, but their development remains a significant challenge. Herein, by using the multivariate approach, we report the construction of two highly crystalline chiral phosphoric acid-functionalized 3D COFs with the 4-fold interpenetrated qtz topology. Notably, the resulting frameworks exhibit exceptional chemical stability, remaining crystallinity even in 12 M HCl, saturated NaOH, and boiling water. Moreover, benefiting from the confined chiral porous architecture, these COFs deliver good activity, enantioselectivity, and recyclability in asymmetric N, N-acetalization reactions, significantly outperforming their homogeneous analogues. This work not only reports a highly stable chiral phosphoric acid-functionalized 3D COF for asymmetric catalysis, but also provides a foundation for constructing robust, reusable heterogeneous chiral organocatalysts.
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