Perspective: Metal-organic frameworks—Opportunities and challenges

The interplay of metal-ligand coordination chemistry with the diverse organic chemistry of the molecular linkers in metal-organic frameworks offers exciting new directions not only in the important area of porous materials, but more generally as a route to control of function by the integration of organic and inorganic components. This makes the current APL Materials issue particularly timely. This Perspective summarises some important aspects of the current state of play.