Polyoxometalates as components of supramolecular assemblies

The non-covalent interaction of polyoxometalates (POMs) with inorganic- or organic-based moieties affords hybrid assemblies with specific physicochemical properties that are of high interest for both fundamental and applied studies, including the discovery of conceptually new compounds and unveiling the impact of their intra-supramolecular relationships on the fields of catalysis, molecular electronics, energy storage and medicine. This minireview summarises the recent advances in the synthetic strategies towards the formation of such non-covalent POM-loaded assemblies, shedding light on their key properties and the currently investigated applications. Four main emerging categories according to the nature of the conjugate are described: (i) POMs in metal–organic frameworks, (ii) POMs merged with cationic metal complexes, (iii) architectures generated with solely POM units and (iv) POMs assembled with organic molecular networks.