Novel Tetramethoxy Resorcinarene Bis-Crown Ethers

Abstract

The synthesis and characterization of new tetramethoxy resorcinarene bis-crown ethers BC4 and BC5 are described. The complexation properties of the compounds toward alkali metal cations were studied by 1H NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, which revealed that BC5 can accommodate two cations simultaneously inside the crown pockets formed by the crown ether bridges and the resorcinarene skeleton. [reaction: see text].