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Rigid linear compounds G1 and G2, which contained two 4-phenylpyridinium (PhPy+) units, have been prepared to investigate their binding with cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]). X-ray crystallographic structures revealed that in the solid state both compounds were included by CB[8], through antiparallel stacking, to form 2:2 quaternary complexes (G1)2@(CB[8])2 and (G2)2@(CB[8])2. For the former complex, CB[8] entrapped G1 by holding two heterodimers of its Py + and benzyl units, which were at opposite ends of the backbone. In contrast, for the first time, the second complex disclosed parallel stacking of two cationic Py + units of G2 in the cavity of CB[8] in the solid state, despite the generation of important electrostatic repulsion. Isothermal titrations in water afforded high apparent association constants of 4.36x 106 and 6.43 x 106 M-1 for 1:1 complexes G1@CB[8] and G2@CB[8], respectively, and 1H NMR spectroscopy experiments in D2O confirmed a similar stacking pattern to that observed in the solid state. A previous study and crystal structures of the 2:1 complexes formed between three new controls, G3-5, and CB[8] did not display such unusual stacking of the cationic Py+ unit; this may be attributed to the multivalency of the two CB[8] encapsulation interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two water-soluble para-xylylene-connected 4,4′-bipyridinium (BIPY2+) polymers have been prepared. UV-Vis absorption, 1H NMR spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry experiments support that in water the BIPY2+ units in the polymers form stable 1:1 charge-transfer complexes with tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) guests that bear two or four carboxylate groups. These charge-transfer complexes are stabilized by the donor-acceptor interaction between electron-rich TTF and electron-deficient BIPY2+ units and electrostatic attraction between the dicationic BIPY2+ units and the anionic carboxylate groups attached to the TTF core. On the basis of UV-Vis experiments, a lower limit to the apparent association constant of the TTF⋅BIPY2+ complexes of the mixtures, 1.8×106 m−1, has been estimated in water. Control experiments reveal substantially reduced binding ability of the neutral TTF di- and tetracarboxylic acids to the BIPY2+ molecules and polymers. Moreover, the stability of the charge-transfer complexes formed by the BIPY2+ units of the polymers are considerably higher than that of the complexes formed between two monomeric BIPY2+ controls and the dicarboxylate-TTF donor; this has been attributed to the mutually strengthened electron-deficient nature of the BIPY2+ units of the polymers due to the electron-withdrawing effect of the BIPY2+ units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Folding-induced folding for the construction of artificial hybrid helices from two different kinds of aromatic sequences is described. Linear compounds 1a, 1b, and 2, containing one aromatic amide trimer or pentamer and one or two aromatic 1,2,3-triazole tetramers, have been designed and synthesized. The trimeric and pentameric amide segments are driven by intramolecluar N—H···F hydrogen bonding to adopt a folded or helical conformation, whereas the triazole segment is intrinsically disordered. In organic solvents of low polarity, the amide foldamer segment induces the attached triazole segment(s) to fold through intramolecular stacking, leading to the formation of hybrid helices. The helical conformation of these hybrid sequences has been confirmed by 1H and 19F NMR spectroscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) experiments, and theoretical calculations. It was found that the amide pentamer exhibits a stronger ability to induce the folding of the attached triazole segment(s) compared with that of the shorter trimer. Enantiomers (R)-3 and (S)-3, which contain an R- or S-(1-naphthyl)ethylamino group at the end of a tetraamide segment, have also been synthesized. CD experiments showed that introduction of a chiral group caused the whole framework to produce a strong helicity bias. Densityfunctional- theory calculations on (S)-3 suggested that this compound exists as a right-handed (P) helix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]