Insights into the binding aspects of fluoride with neutral synthetic receptors

[Display omitted] •Selective solid-state capture of fluoride in its bare or hydrated forms.•Structural aspects of fluoride binding by acyclic and cyclic neutral receptors.•Fluoride/hydrated-fluoride recognition within the neutral self-assembled receptors. Fluoride has gained widespread attention as a target for binding by synthetic receptors during the past decades, because of its key roles in the environmental and biological processes. This review aims to provide a broad assessment of the reported examples of coordinated fluoride/hydrated-fluoride complexes of neutral receptors offered by natural hydrogen-bond donating sites from hydroxyl, amine, amide, thioamide, urea, and thiourea functionalities. The review primarily focuses on the structural aspects of fluoride binding by both acyclic (monopodal, dipodal, tripodal, hexapodal) and cyclic neutral receptors, as gathered from 2010 onwards. Examples relating to selective solid-state capture of fluoride in its bare or hydrated forms by these polytopic acycles or cyclic receptors are the primary focus of this review. Additionally, a brief discussion on fluoride selective sensing by less preorganized monopodal sensors in solution state is included.