A Fluorescent Ditopic Rotaxane Ion-Pair Host

Mathieu Denis; Lei Qin; Peter Turner; Katrina A Jolliffe; Stephen M Goldup

doi:10.1002/anie.201713105

A Fluorescent Ditopic Rotaxane Ion-Pair Host

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2018 May 4;57(19):5315-5319. doi: 10.1002/anie.201713105. Epub 2018 Mar 5.

Authors

Mathieu Denis¹, Lei Qin², Peter Turner², Katrina A Jolliffe², Stephen M Goldup¹

Affiliations

¹ Chemistry, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK.
² School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.

Abstract

We report a rotaxane based on a simple urea motif that binds Cl^- selectively as a separated ion pair with H⁺ and reports the anion binding event through a fluorescence switch-on response. The host selectively binds Cl^- over more basic anions, which deprotonate the framework, and less basic anions, which bind more weakly. The mechanical bond also imparts size selectivity to the ditopic host.

Keywords: anions; fluorescence; mechanical bonds; rotaxanes; sensors.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't