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The interactions of the tetra- cationic meso-tetrakis(N-methyl-4-pyri- dyl)porphyrin (H2TMPyP) and its met- allo derivatives (MTMPyP) (where M = copper(ii), zinc(ii), and gold(iii) with the octa-anionic form (at neutral pH) of 5,11,17,23-tetrasulfonato- 25,26,27,28-tetrakis(hydroxycarbonyl- methoxy)calix(4)arene (C4TsTc) lead to a series of complex species whose stoichiometry and porphyrin sequence can be easily tuned. Crystallographic, spectroscopic, and diffusion NMR stud- ies converge towards a common picture in which a central 1:4 porphyrin/calix- arene unit serves as a template for the formation of more complex species. These species arise by successive, step- wise addition of single porphyrin mole- cules above and below the plane of the 1:4 central core to ultimately give a 7:4 complex. Noticeably, the stoichiometry of the various complex species corre- sponds to the actual concentration ratio of porphyrins and calixarenes in solution allowing the stoichiometry of these species to be easily tuned. This behavior and the remarkable stability of these species allow homo-porphyrin and hetero-(metallo)porphyrin species to be formed with control of not only the stoichiometry but also the sequence of the porphyrin array. The flexibility and ease of this approach permit, in principle, the design and synthesis of porphyrin arrays for predetermined purposes. For example, we have shown that it is very easy to design and obtain mixed porphyrin species in which a foreseen photoinduced electron-trans- fer is indeed observed.

Tetraanions of alkyl-substituted derivatives of cycloocta[1,2,3,4-def;5,6,7,8-d'e'f']bisbiphenylene (BPD) and their counter lithium cations self-assemble to form helically stacked assemblies, including a dimer, a trimer, and a tetramer. NMR self-diffusion measurements and unprecedented magnetic shielding effects for the sandwiched lithium cations support their aggregated nature. The D(2)-tetramer assembly is fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy, providing unequivocal evidence for a helix of four tetraanionic BPD layers with an estimated relative twist angle of about 45 degrees and interlayer spacing of ca. 4 A. The barrier for racemization through the in-plane inter-deck rotation is DeltaG(200)= 9.5 +/- 0.2 kcal mol(-1) in the dimer compared to >15 kcal mol(-1) in the tetramer.

The interaction between tropylium salts and tetraurea calix[4]arene derivatives (such as 1 and 2) was studied in solution using 1D, 2D, diffusion, VT NMR and UV–visible spectroscopy. It was found that tropylium salts form charge transfer complexes with both the monomers and dimers of the tetraurea calix[4]arene derivatives depending on the experimental conditions. Compound 1 increases dramatically the solubility of tropylium salts in apolar solvents such as C2D4Cl2, CDCl3 and CD2Cl2 by forming the molecular capsule 1·C7H7+·1. In contrast to the benzene capsule of 1, in 1·C7H7+·1 the hydrogen bonds in the equatorial region that hold together the two parts of the dimer change their directionality faster than the NMR time scale (at 400 MHz) at temperatures higher than 298 K. Interestingly, the free energy barrier for this dynamic process at 298 K (ΔG‡298), depends on the nature of the counter-anion. Free energies of activation of 14.3 ± 0.2 kcal mol−1 and 12.6 ± 0.2 kcal mol−1 were found by total lineshape analysis for the dimeric capsules of C7H7+PF6− and C7H7+BF4−, respectively. The affinity of the tropylium cation toward the dimer's cavity is much higher than that of neutral organic guests. Although exact quantitative values are not available due to the low solubility of tropylium salts in apolar solvents, a rough estimation in CD2Cl2 shows that the tropylium cation affinity is several orders of magnitude higher than that of benzene, which is known to be a good guest. These results show that once the steric requirements are met, electronic effects may serve as an additional driving force for the formation of such molecular capsules demonstrating the importance of cation–π interactions in such systems.