Halogen bonding makes its debut in a permanently porous framework

Halogen bonds are robust and tuneable enough to build permanently porous frameworks, new research shows. The findings contradict previous assumptions that halogen bonds could not generate the strong, cooperative intermolecular interactions needed to stabilise such high-energy, low-density structures. By strengthening the entire structure through self-complementary molecules, rather than focusing on individual halogen bonds, researchers in the UK have created a structure that adds to a growing body of work highlighting the utility of halogen bonding.