Introduction of the Ligands as Bridging Units

Several encapsulation experiments with suitably sized guests such as adaman-tane, 1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene, anthracene, pyrene, sodium picrate, and fuller-enes in various solvents were carried out. The complexation experiments, monitored by 1H NMR, were performed at room temperature by forming capsule 32f in the presence of excess guest. The only successful encapsulation experiment performed was the one using methano[60]fullerene derivatives bearing dimethyl and diethyl malonate addends. Evidence for inclusion complexation, provided by 1H NMR, was confirmed by ESI-MS investigations, which showed the formation of 1 1 

An uncommon experiment of cage self-assembly in a liquid-liquid two-phase system has been described. Cavitand 31b (1 equiv) dissolved in 1,1,2,2-tetrachlor-oethane was exposed to an aqueous solution of Pd(en)(N03)2 (2.5 equiv) in a test tube. Immediately, a solid formed at the interface, which became more abundant over time.1H NMR analysis of the recovered solid indicated the formation of cage 32h in pure form. A MALDI-TOF experiment performed directly on the solid sample confirmed the attribution. This last result is particularly interesting since liquid-liquid interfaces represent another potentially useful field of action for self-assembly protocols, which has barely been explored so far [42]. 

A competition experiment has been performed to test the self-recognition properties of cavitands 31b and 33b in the CSA process. After the addition of a 

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