Shape persistence delivers lock-and-key chloride binding in triazolophanes

Area of Science:

• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Organic Chemistry

Background:

• Triazolophanes represent a novel class of shape-persistent macrocycles.
• These macrocycles are designed to bind anions through hydrogen bonding interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To elucidate the structural attributes of triazolophanes responsible for their anion binding capabilities.
• To review recent advancements and applications of triazolophane-based supramolecular systems.

Main Methods:

• The review synthesizes information from recent literature on triazolophanes and related supramolecular systems.
• Analysis focuses on the role of CH hydrogen bond donors and structural pre-organization.

Main Results:

• Triazolophanes demonstrate exceptionally high binding strengths for chloride anions (e.g., >10^6 M^-1 in CH2Cl2).
• These receptors effectively utilize non-traditional hydrogen bonds from extrinsic CH donors.

Conclusions:

• Triazolophanes leverage spherand-like structural pre-organization for efficient anion recognition.
• The findings highlight the potential of CH hydrogen bonding in designing advanced supramolecular receptors.