Although zeolites and related materials combine nanoporosity with high thermal stability, they are difficult to modify or derivatize in a systematic way. A highly porous metal coordination polymer [Cu ₃ (TMA) ₂ (H ₂ O) ₃ ] _n (where TMA is benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate) was formed in 80 percent yield. It has interconnected [Cu ₂ (O ₂ CR) ₄ ] units (where R is an aromatic ring), which create a three-dimensional system of channels with a pore size of 1 nanometer and an accessible porosity of about 40 percent in the solid. Unlike zeolites, the channel linings can be chemically functionalized; for example, the aqua ligands can be replaced by pyridines. Thermal gravimetric analysis and high-temperature single-crystal diffractometry indicate that the framework is stable up to 240°C.

(4-Biphenylyl)phenyldibenzofulvene is weakly luminescent in the amorphous phase but becomes highly emissive upon crystallization; this unusual crystallization-induced emission enhancement effect allows its emission to be repeatedly switched between dark and bright states by fuming-heating and heating-cooling processes.