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Pillar[n]arenes (n = 5–15) are a novel class of macrocyclic molecules with hydroquinone as the repeating unit linked by methylene bridges at para-positions. Introduced by T. Ogoshi for the first time in 2008, pillararenes have attracted increasing interest and have been widely studied during the last eight years, due to their unique structural advantages as host molecules, such as symmetrical rigid architecture, electron-rich cavities and facile functional modification. In this review, we first describe the syntheses of pillar[n]arenes including cyclooligomerization of pillar[n]arenes and modification of pillar[n]arenes after cyclooligomerization, summarising almost twenty different kinds of guest motifs and dividing them into three types: cationic, neutral and anionic motifs. The main section of this review examines the applications of pillar[n]arenes based on the host–guest interactions in different research fields, including biology, materials science and environmental science. Finally, future research directions and potential for novel applications are discussed.

A catalytic amount of dibutyltin dichloride was used to develop regioselective alkylation of diols and multiple alkylation of polyols. Alkyl groups, including allyl, alkynyl and long-chain alkyl groups, were successfully introduced to one or two hydroxyl groups of carbohydrate and nonsugar substrates. In most cases, excellent isolation yields were obtained. The alkynylated carbohydrates may be used to synthesize oligosaccharide mimics at a high efficiency via click reaction. The carbohydrates with long-chain alkyl groups may serve as surfactants, which were further demonstrated by experiments in this study.

A novel method for an efficient regioselective acetylation of carbohydrates and diols in aqueous solution is described. Treatment of substrates with 1-acetylimidazole, and tetramethyl-ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) in water under mild conditions gave highly regioselective acetylation for primary hydroxyl groups. This discovery provides an eco-friendly way for selective acetylation of non-protected glycosides and diols in water, avoiding the use of toxic organic solvents and the necessity of pre-protection of secondary hydroxyl groups.

A novel and efficient copper-catalyzed Michael addition of acrylic derivatives with primary alcohols in the presence of base has been developed. The protocol uses readily available acrylic derivatives and primary alcohols as the starting materials, inexpensive CuCl2 as the catalyst, and the corresponding addition products were obtained in moderate to excellent yields.

[reaction: see text] The Lattrell-Dax method of nitrite-mediated substitution of carbohydrate triflates is an efficient method to generate structures of inverse configuration. In the present study, epimerization of gluco- and galactopyranoside derivatives to the corresponding allo- and gulopyranoside structures by triflation/nitrite treatment has been investigated. It was found that a neighboring ester group was essential for the reactivity of the nitrite-mediated triflate inversion. Furthermore, a good inversion yield also depended on the relative configuration of the neighboring ester group to the triflate. Only with the ester group in the equatorial position, whatever the configuration of the triflate, did the reaction proceed smoothly, whereas a neighboring axial ester group proved largely inefficient. The results were subsequently used to predict the inversion of glucopyranoside derivatives to the mannopyranoside epimers.