Tuning the Fluorescence Through Reorientation of the Axle in Calix[6]arene-Based Pseudorotaxanes

Abstract

This work describes a calix[6]arene-based wheel that binds, in non-polar media, a stilbazolium salt to yield a mixture of pseudorotaxane orientational isomers. The isomer's abundance ratio evolves with time and can be reversibly tuned by adjusting the temperature. The spectroscopic properties, and notably the emission spectrum, of the bound guest depend on its orientation inside the non-palindromic wheel, suggesting such a system as a switch with spectroscopic readout.

Keywords: calixarenes; fluorescence; orientational isomerism; pseudorotaxanes; stilbazolium dyes.