Aggregation and complexation in a series of tetramethylenesulfonate-substituted calix[4]resorcinarenes

Abstract

NMR methods are employed to study the effects of inorganic salts, solvents, and guest molecules of methylviologen (MV²⁺) and choline (Ch⁺) on the aggregation properties of water-soluble tetramethylene-sulfonate-substituted calix[4]resorcinarenes containing methyl (1), amyl (2), and heptyl (3) substituents in the lower rim. It is established that, in aqueous solutions at concentrations of 1–10 mM, compound 1 exists in the monomeric form; the size of aggregates of amphiphilic compound 2 gradually increases (aggregation number varies from 1 to 20); and hydrophobic compound 3 dissolves only in slightly alkaline aqueous solutions to form large micellar aggregates. For macrocycles 2 and 3, which are inclined to aggregation, the aggregate sizes depend on the concentration, pH, and ionic strength of solutions, as well as on the presence of organic solvents. Macrocycle 1 binds guest molecules Ch⁺ and MV²⁺ to yield inclusion complexes. In the presence of aggregates of substance 2, the binding of guest molecules is more efficient and they are encapsulated between the rim of one molecule and the tail of another molecule of compound 2. The presence of guest molecules enhances the aggregation of macrocycle 2. In the case of compound 3 solutions, guest Ch⁺ molecules are predominantly localized in the hydrophobic environment of alkyl substituents of the host.