An Organic Molecular Nanobarrel that Hosts and Solubilizes C60

Abstract

Organic cages have gained increasing attention in recent years as molecular hosts and porous materials. Among these, barrel-shaped cages or molecular nanobarrels are promising systems to encapsulate large hosts as they possess windows of the same size as their internal cavity. However, these systems have received little attention and remain practically unexplored despite their potential. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a new trigonal prismatic organic nanobarrel with two large triangular windows with a diameter of 12.7 Å optimal for the encapsulation of C60. Remarkably, this organic nanobarrel shows a high affinity for C60 in solvents in which C60 is virtually insoluble, providing stable solutions of C60.