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Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Stacking versus Encapsulation: Assembly of Oppositely Charged Tribenzotriquinacene Bowls in Water
Wei-Xiu Lin1, Guo-Jian Ren1, Dietmar Kuck2
1School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Tropical Island Resources of Ministry of Education, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
Abstract:
Two oppositely charged tribenzotriquinacene bowls, hexakis-ammonium ion A and hexacarboxylate B, assemble in water into stacked dimers rather than capsules. Significant upfield shifts of protons on the convex TBTQ surface and DFT-optimized structures confirm the interpenetrated AB stacking. Hexacation A also forms a predominant 2:1 capsule with mesitylenetrisulfonate C, but hexa-anion B competitively replaces C to yield the AB dimers. Curvature and charge complementarity favor AB stacking over A2C encapsulation, revealing a geometry- and entropy-governed exchange process.
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