Pairwise selective formation of aromatic stacks in a coordination cage

A study was conducted to demonstrate the electron-deficient aromatic box formed by the appropriate combination of electron-donating (D) and accepting (A) guest pairs to result in an asymmetric quadruple A-D-A-A stacking sequence quantitatively. The results offer insight into the inner D-A guest pair which rapidly swaps their positions to create a dynamic aromatic array and the swift guest motion that largely depends on the donor aromatics.