Issue 55, 2019

Pillararenes as macrocyclic hosts: a rising star in metal ion separation

Abstract

Pillararenes are macrocyclic oligomers of alkoxybenzene akin to calixarenes but tethered at the 2,5-positions via methylene bridges. Benefiting from their unique pillar-shaped architecture favorable for diverse functionalization and versatile host–guest properties, pillararenes decorated with chelating groups worked excellently as supporting platforms to construct extractants or adsorbents for metal ion separation. This feature article provides a detailed summary of pillararenes in Ln/An separation by liquid–liquid extraction and heavy metal separation by solid–liquid extraction. The preorganization effect of the rigid pillararene framework has a profound impact on the extraction of metal ions, and a unique extraction mechanism is observed when employing ionic liquids as solvents. The rich host–guest chemistry of pillararenes enables construction of a wide variety of supramolecular materials as metal ion adsorbents. We also discuss the differences between pillararenes and several well-known macrocycles, with a focus on the metal–ligand coordination and its influencing factors. We hope this review will provide useful information and unleash new opportunities in this field.

Graphical abstract: Pillararenes as macrocyclic hosts: a rising star in metal ion separation

Article information

Article type
Feature Article
Submitted
28 Apr 2019
Accepted
27 May 2019
First published
29 May 2019

Chem. Commun., 2019,55, 7883-7898

Pillararenes as macrocyclic hosts: a rising star in metal ion separation

L. Chen, Y. Cai, W. Feng and L. Yuan, Chem. Commun., 2019, 55, 7883 DOI: 10.1039/C9CC03292D

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