No abstract

“What would the properties of materials be if we could really arrange the atoms (molecules) the way we want them?” Besides, Feynman conjectured “What could we do with layered structures with just the right layers?” The chemistry of layered zirconium phosphate (ZrP) gives excellent possibilities to achieve the goal of designing porous solids of controlled molecular geometry, a challenge of enormous technological and scientific importance. The placing of organic molecules between the layers of ZrP is quite straightforward, can easily be controlled, and leads to enduring solid materials where the confinement makes the organic molecules to show new properties at the supramolecular level. The chemistry of metal phosphates/phosphonates will be detailed in relation with the following topics: (i) molecular recognition; (ii) chemically driven porosity changes; (iii) chiral memory and supramolecular chirality; (iv) luminescence signaling; (v) photoinduced electron‐transfer processes; (vi) hydrogen storage; and (vii) confinement of drugs.