Selective recognition of the higher alkali fluoride ion pairs by a class of coordination-driven non-ditopic ligands

Abstract

A first non-ditopic system for selective recognition and binding of the higher alkali fluorides (KF, RbF, and CsF) is reported. Specific ion-pair recognition was achieved by using vasarenes, a new class of self-assembled bowl-shaped compounds that show specific affinity toward the ion pairs and display no affinity for either the "free" cation or the anion. Vasarenes precipitate the higher alkali fluorides from solution, thus showing promising potential in separation processes. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.