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Extensive research has been devoted to the chemical manipulation of carbon nanotubes. The attachment of molecular fragments through covalent-bond formation produces kinetically stable products, but implies the saturation of some of the CC double bonds of the nanotubes. Supramolecular modification maintains the structure of the SWNTs but yields labile species. Herein, we present a strategy for the synthesis of mechanically interlocked derivatives of SWNTs (MINTs). In the key rotaxane-forming step, we employed macrocycle precursors equipped with two π-extended tetrathiafulvalene SWNT recognition units and terminated with bisalkenes that were closed around the nanotubes through ring-closing metathesis (RCM). The mechanically interlocked nature of the derivatives was probed by analytical, spectroscopic, and microscopic techniques, as well as by appropriate control experiments. Individual macrocycles were observed by HR STEM to circumscribe the nanotubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we investigate the association of a fullerene fragment, hemifullerene C30H12, with an electron‐donating bowl‐shaped tetrathiafulvalene derivative (truxTTF). UV/Vis titrations and DFT calculations support formation of the supramolecular complex, for which an association constant of log Ka=3.6±0.3 in CHCl3 at room temperature is calculated. Remarkably, electron transfer from truxTTF to C30H12 to form the fully charge‐separated species takes place upon irradiation of the associate with light, constituting the first example in which a fullerene fragment mimics the electron‐accepting behavior of fullerenes within a supramolecular complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]