Blurring the Lines between Host and Guest: A Chimeric Receptor Derived from Cucurbituril and Triptycene

Abstract

We report the synthesis and X-ray crystal structure of a cucurbituril-triptycene chimeric receptor (1). Host 1 binds to guests typical of CB[6]-CB[8], but also binds to larger guests such as blue box (20) and the Fujita square (22). Intriguingly, the geometries of the 1⋅20 and 1⋅22 complexes blur the lines between host and guest in that both components fulfill both roles within each complex. The fluorescence output of 1 is fully quenched by the formation of complexes with pyridinium-derived guests.

Keywords: cucurbituril; fluorescence; host-guest systems; supramolecular chemistry; triptycenes.