Metallocavitins as Emerging Bioinspired Catalysts

The coming energy and environmental crises seriously threaten the further sustainable development of human civilization. There is an urgent need for the transition to clean energy along with the development of efficient technologies for chemical processing of renewable raw materials, such as water and atmospheric gases. Technologies of the future should be based on the principles of biomimetic chemistry with extensive use of bio-inspired processes. Future chemical production needs to be waste-free like the circulation of substances in nature. First of all, it is necessary to learn how to use solar energy through development of artificial photosynthesis. It is great interest in this connection the emerging innovative generation of bioinspired catalysts, such as metallocavitins (MC), which are adequate chemical analogs of metalloenzymes. Metallocavitins (metal-organic frameworks (MOF), covalent organic frameworks (COF), molecular capsules, cages and etc.) are able to model chemical reactivity of metalloenzymes which efficiency and selectivity are well known. Enantioselective catalysis and precision organic synthesis are the main areas in which metallocavitin is used. Metallocavitins, on the other hand, exhibit great activity for energy-demanding reactions involving small gas molecules and good selectivity for turning them into valuable products. The purpose of this review is to highlight some recent advances in fine organic synthesis using MC. Much attention will be paid to the activation of small molecules, such as H2O, CO2, N2, O2 and CH4, and the prospects for creating related technological processes in connection with serious challenges that society is facing.