An overview of the progress of MOFs-based hybrid materials as efficient catalysts for Knoevenagel condensation

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a widely family of ubiquitous nanostructured materials that provide a staggering amount of research each year in a variety of areas, including catalysis, health, adsorption, sensing and biology. They have generated a collection of restricted organic-inorganic hybrid materials with high specific surface area, tunable multimodal porosity, and adaptable chemical reactivity by combining ligands and metal nodes in their structure. Recently, an increasing amount of interest has been dedicated to developing modern and novel methodologies in the synthesis and application of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as heterogeneous catalysts for the synthesis of organic molecules. The catalytic Knoevenagel condensation process has consistently drawn much attention in various angles. This process is suitable for the production of heterocycles and fine chemicals from new C=C/ C-C bonds between an aldehyde or ketone and active methylene molecules. Therefore, several catalysts, including MOFs-based materials, have been investigated in the Knoevenagel condensation. This review article highlights the current tendency of heterogeneous catalysis regarding the implementation of MOFs-based materials as promising materials with remarkable properties in the Knoevenagel condensation (during 2017 to date).