Switching the enantioselectivity of nanoporous host materials by light

A chiral photoswitchable nanoporous material with remote-controllable enantioselective adsorption capacity is presented. This metal–organic framework possesses both homochiral D-camphoric acid and light-responsive azobenzene moieties. Although the structure at the chiral moieties is unaffected, the trans–cis-azobenzene-photoisomerization changes the pore environment and, thus, switches the enantioselective adsorption behavior of the homochiral MOF.