Inclusion chemistry of cyclotetracatechylene

Abstract

The synthesis and X-ray crystal structures of the first inclusion complexes of cyclotetracatechylene (CTTC,1) are reported. Crystals grown from a dimethylformamide (DMF) solution of 1 contain a total of six DMF molecules per CTTC unit (1·6DMF, 5) whilst crystals obtained from methanol in the presence of pyridine vapour form as a 1:2:2 complex (1·2pyridine·2methanol, 6). Hydrogen-bonded interactions between host and guest(s) play an important role in the molecular structure and, in the case of 6, a terminated eleven-atom hydrogen bonded chain is observed.