Bridge-substituted calix[4]arenes: syntheses, conformations and application

The bridge-substituted calix[4]arene carboxylic acid, 5,11,17,23-tetra-tert-butyl-25,26,27,28-tetramethoxy-calix[4]arene-2-carboxylic acid (1), can be readily converted to various esters 2–4 and reduced to the alcohol 5, which reacts with methyl iodide to give the ether 6. The alcohol can be dansylated to give 7, the fluorescence of which is selectively quenched by Cu(II) in acetonitrile. An attempt to convert the acid 1 to an amide resulted unexpectedly in the formation of a lactone 8. The conformational characteristics of 1–8 have been studied in solution and, in the cases of 2 and 4, in the solid state by determination of their single-crystal X-ray structures. With the exception of 8, in all these compounds the bridge substituent adopts an equatorial (lateral) orientation.