Systems and methods for producing a covalent organic framework including providing a first monomer to a first zone in a furnace, a second monomer to a second zone in the furnace, and a substrate to a third zone in the furnace, where the third zone is located downstream from the first zone and the second zone. Systems and methods also include heating the furnace to a achieve temperature profile having a range of temperatures where the range of temperatures vaporizes the first monomer the second monomer. Systems and methods further include absorbing, onto the substrate, the first vaporized monomer and the second vaporized monomer to produce a covalent organic framework (COF). Articles produced by systems and methods include a film of a covalent organic framework (COF). The COF is a reaction product of a first monomer and a second monomer, and the COF is arranged in a two-dimensional crystalline lattice.

The present invention is directed to sulfonic esters of metal oxides including those of formulas I and II: ##STR00001##

In one aspect, the present disclosure encompasses polymerization systems for the copolymerization of CO.sub.2 and epoxides comprising 1) a catalyst including a metal coordination compound having a permanent ligand set and at least one ligand that is a polymerization initiator, and 2) a chain transfer agent having one or more sites capable of initiating copolymerization of epoxides and CO.sub.2, wherein the chain transfer agent contains one or more masked hydroxyl groups. In a second aspect, the present disclosure encompasses methods for the synthesis of polycarbonate polyols using the inventive polymerization systems. In a third aspect, the present disclosure encompasses polycarbonate polyol compositions characterized in that the polymer chains have a high percentage of OH end groups, a high percentage of carbonate linkages, and substantially all polycarbonate chains having hydroxyl end groups have no embedded chain transfer agent.

A zinc-based nanohybrid was prepared using a facile wet chemistry process. This nanohybrid has zinc oxide nanostructures connected to zinc phthalocyanine molecules via biologically important ligands. In addition, this nanohybrid has photocatalytic properties and photodegrades water pollutants, such as methyl orange.

The present disclosure provides novel methods of making aluminum complexes with utility for promoting epoxide carbonylation reactions. Methods include reacting neutral metal carbonyl compounds with alkylaluminum complexes, such as the alkylaluminum complexes represented by Formula I, where Q is a nitrogen atom and the four Q groups are part of a single porphyrin ligand and R.sup.q is selected from optionally substituted C.sub.1-12 aliphatic and optionally substituted aryl: ##STR00001##

Described herein are catalytic systems that can catalyze enantioselective CH functionalization reactions and methods of using thereof are described. These catalytic systems contain iron complexes as host catalysts and diammonium guest templates as co-catalysts. The iron-based host catalysts contain crown-ether phthalocyanine ligands. The diammonium guest templates are bidentate compounds with chirality. The iron-based host catalysts and the bidentate ammonium guest templates can provide a complex steric environment with the for stereospecific and site-selective CH functionalization, such as CH amination. For example, enantioselective CH amination reaction performed using the disclosed methods can achieve high enantiomeric ratio (i.e., at least 2:1) and optionally high yield (i.e., at least 30%).