2D coordination polymers: Design guidelines and materials perspective

The advent of two-dimensional (2D) organic/inorganic layered and monolayer materials has ushered in an explosion of research to understand the synthesis, underlying physics, and exciting material properties of these materials. The field to date has produced preliminary design rules related to feasible synthesis routes that can be used to design 2D materials with a range of organic ligands and metal linkers. This review seeks to extend these design rules to predict which ligands and metals can be combined, and in what fashion, to control the thermal, mechanical, magnetic, and optoelectronic properties. Furthermore, we review the various synthetic techniques and how these can be modified to enable scalable manufacturing of 2D polymers and materials, and how this highlights the need for defect engineering and advanced characterization capabilities within the field. We conclude by discussing how together these design rules, manufacturing considerations, and characterization tools coalesce to enable new materials, applications, and fundamental insights. Particular emphasis is given to magnetism, electrical properties, and optics. Overall, this review serves as a roadmap and framework for identifying new and exciting material targets, strategies for engineering desirable properties, and conduits to streamline the manufacturing and processing of these exciting materials.