Anion templation strategies have facilitated the synthesis of various catenane and rotaxane hosts capable of strong and selective binding of anions in competitive solvents. However, this approach has primarily relied on positively charged precursors, limiting the structural diversity and the range of potential applications of the anion-templated mechanically interlocked molecules. Here we demonstrate the synthesis of a rare electroneutral [2]catenane using a powerful, doubly charged sulfate template and a complementary diamidocarbazole-based hydrogen bonding precursor. Owing to the unique three-dimensional hydrogen bonding cavity and the embedded carbazole fluorophores, the resulting catenane receptor functions as a sensitive fluorescent turn-ON sensor for the highly hydrophilic sulfate, even in the presence of a large excess of water. Importantly, the [2]catenane exhibits enhanced binding affinity and selectivity for sulfate over its parent macrocycle and other acyclic diamidocarbazole-based receptors. We demonstrate also, for the first time, that the co-conformation of the catenane may be controlled by reversible acid/base induced protonation and deprotonation of the anionic template, SO42-. This approach pioneers a new strategy to induce molecular motion of interlocked components using switchable anionic templates.
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