A flexible self-folding receptor for coronene

Abstract

We report a conformationally flexible deep cavitand receptor based on calix[5]arene and stabilized by a cooperative network of hydrogen bonds. The receptor binds coronene selectively over smaller polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, but is flexible enough to adapt to a smaller guest that presents a complementary electron deficient surface. The unique dynamic properties of this system have been thoroughly studied by NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.