Supramolecular Catalysis Using Organic Macrocycles

Supramolecular catalysis has received great interests in the past decades. Owing to the existence of cavity and host-guest binding capability, macrocyclic compounds have found wide applications in the fabrication of various functional supramolecular catalysis systems. Among which, crown ethers, cyclodextrins, cucurbiturils, and calixarenes have served as four classes of privileged macrocyclic molecules and been applied not only for the construction of enzyme mimics but also beyond that for the development of non-biomimetic systems. Along with these studies, many supramolecular catalysis principles have been developed in connection with the specific structure and function features of a given macrocyclic scaffold. These efforts have not only provided the basis for the emergence of supramolecular catalysis but also stimulated many related studies through developing other macrocycle and non-cycle systems. In this chapter, the author has given an overview on the development of various supramolecular catalysis systems using these four classes of representative macrocycles, attempting to provide a historic perspective and state of the art in the field. To implement this, an emphasis has been put on the rational design based on the specific structural features of a given macrocyclic scaffold and on demonstrating the exploitation of manifold supramolecular catalysis principles. The discussion starts with crown ethers; then goes through the two classes of water-soluble macrocycles, cyclodextrins and cucurbiturils; and ends with the very versatile scaffold macrocycle, calixarenes.