Andrew C. Try, Margaret M. Harding, Andrew C. Try, Margaret M. Harding, Darren G. Hamilton and Jeremy K. M. Sanders
Addition of a dinaphtho-crown ether to the components of a chiral metallomacrocycle affords a [2]catenane as the exclusive thermodynamic product; the reversible assembly process is driven by a combination of zinc(II)–bipyridyl ligation and π-donor/π-acceptor interactions between the electronically complementary aromatic components.