When variance is encountered in reticular structures such as metal–organic frameworks, it occurs as multiple kinds of functionalities bound and distributed in aperiodic lattices. In these multivariate systems, unknown spatial arrangements of functionalities create properties that go beyond those of their simple sum. It is therefore essential that we learn how to recognize, study and use these arrangements, and for this purpose we propose using the concept of sequences. Accordingly, we propose a classification system, outline a method for characterizing sequences and describe the application to self-propelled reticular machines. On a fundamental level, this contribution transforms the chemist’s thinking from the usual ‘make, characterize, use’ protocol of doing chemistry to a discovery routine based on finding correlations between input synthesis parameters and output performance. This approach provides an alternative and widely accessible pathway for determining the properties that the system of sequences confers on multivariate reticular structures.

当在金属有机框架等网状结构中遇到变化时，它会以多种功能结合并分布在非周期性晶格中的形式出现。在这些多元系统中，功能的未知空间排列创建的属性超出了它们的简单总和。因此，我们必须学习如何识别、研究和使用这些排列，为此我们建议使用序列的概念。因此，我们提出了一个分类系统，概述了一种表征序列的方法，并描述了在自行式网状机器上的应用。从根本上说，这种贡献将化学家的思维从通常的“制造、表征、基于发现输入合成参数和输出性能之间的相关性，使用“对发现程序进行化学处理的协议”。这种方法为确定序列系统赋予多变量网状结构的特性提供了一种替代且广泛使用的途径。