One way of synthesizing solid catalysts rationally, while retaining one of the advantages of homogeneous catalysis - namely, the ability to modify and control catalyst activities through controlled changes in metal coordinations - is to heterogenize molecular catalysts, i.e. to bind them to a solid surface. There are many ways of achieving these transformations from homogeneous to heterogeneous. The lecture focuses on a class of very interesting solid supports: coordination polymers or metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). These porous solids are created by combining metal centers (usually clusters) with organic frameworks. The latter easily enable the covalent attachment of organic and organometallic functions, notably molecular catalysts. The different attachment strategies are presented using a number of significant examples. In general, after fixation, the catalysts are stabilized, retain their catalytic properties and thus acquire some of the properties of solid catalysts, notably their recyclability.
Last but not least, the pores of the solid material themselves can be used as binding sites for molecules. This non-covalent attachment has been developed recently, including in our laboratory, to lead to original heterogenized homogeneous catalysts.
