This tutorial review discusses recent literature on coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that exhibit solid-state reactivity and structural transformation under various experimental conditions. Removal or exchange of solvents and guest molecules, exposure to reactive vapours, and external stimuli such as heat, light or mechanochemical force cause such structural transformations and these are often manifested by various physical properties such as colour, magnetism, luminescence, chirality, porosity, etc. due to change in coordination number and geometry, dimensionality, interpenetration, etc. More drastic transformations related to the exchange of metal ions, pillar ligands and insertion of additional ligands between the layers have also been demonstrated. The vast area of dynamic behaviour of coordination polymers and their stimuli-responsive properties have also been addressed briefly.

Two stereoisomers of cyclobutane derivatives with pyridyl and carboxylic acid functionalities have been stereoselectively synthesized by a solid-state photochemical [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction in quantitative yields. The head-to-head and head-to-tail parallel orientations of the monomers, required to obtain these two isomers, have been controlled by the anions present in the salts. The photoinert behavior of these salts in solution signifies the importance of the solid-state synthesis of these cyclobutane derivatives.

Construction by shining light! A [2+2] cycloaddition reaction in a 2D coordination polymer accompanied by single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal structural transformation to a 3D structure highlights the retrosynthesis of a 3D structure from a 2D layer compound (see scheme, Zn red, 4‐styrylpyridine blue/turquoise).

A [2+2] cycloaddition reaction has been observed in a number of solids. The cyclobutane ring in a photodimerized material can be cleaved into olefins by UV light and heat. The high thermal stability of the metal-organic salt K2SDC (H2SDC = 4,4'-stilbenedicarboxylic acid) has been successfully utilized to investigate the reversible cleavage of a cyclobutane ring. The two polymorphs of K2SDC undergo reversible cyclobutane formation by UV light and cleavage by heat in cycles. Of these, one polymorph retains its single-crystal nature during the reversible processes. Polymorphs are known to show different physical properties and chemical reactivities. This work reveals that the retention of single-crystal nature is strongly associated with the packing of molecules, which is controlled by kinetics and thermodynamics. The photoemissive nature of the products makes this as a promising material for photoswitches and optical data storage devices.

Three coordination polymers, [Cd(2)(pvba)(2)(tbdc)(dmf)(2)] (1), [Co(2)(pvba)(2)(tbdc)(dmf)(2)(H(2)O)(2)] (2), and [Ni(2)(pvba)(2)(tbdc)(dmf)(2)(H(2)O)(2)] (3) (H(2)tbdc = 2,3,5,6-tetrabromobenzenedicarboxylic acid, Hpvba = trans-2-(4'-pyridyl)vinylbenzoic acid), were synthesized by solvothermal methods. The solid-state structures of compounds 1 and 2 were determined by X-ray crystallography. In compounds 1 and 2, the bimetallic cores acted as secondary building units that connected the tbdc ligands in one direction and a pair of pvba ligands, which were aligned in a head-to-tail parallel manner, in the orthogonal direction to form sheet structures. The C=C bonds in these pvba ligand pairs in all three compounds were well-aligned to undergo quantitative [2+2] cycloaddition reactions in the solid state under UV irradiation, thereby yielding their cyclobutane derivatives. This photochemical reaction appeared to facilitate structural transformations from one 2D structure into another in the solid state. The photoreactive Co(II)- and Ni(II) coordination polymers exhibited a reversible dehydration-rehydration reaction that was accompanied by color changes from pink to purple and green to yellow, respectively, owing to a change in coordination number from six to five. Magnetic studies showed that compound 2 was an antiferromagnet, which displayed a field-dependent transition with a critical field (H(c)) of 40 kOe at 2 K; the antiferromagnetic interaction between the Co(2) units was strengthened and weakened by dehydration and UV irradiation, respectively. The cyclobutane ligand in the photodimerized products was cleaved on heating to yield a mixture of trans- and cis-isomers of pvba, as monitored by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. The Cd(II) coordination polymer underwent quantitative cleavage of the cyclobutane ring whilst the other two underwent partial cleavage.