Für Albert, den Meister des Komplexen an sich Naphthalene-1-ethanol and naphthalene-1,8-diethanol carrying one or two glycosidically bonded cellodextrin chains, T-x and T-x-x, resp. (x 1 ± 4, 8) were analyzed by NMR spectroscopy. For solutions in (D 6 )DMSO and (D 5 )pyridine, analysis was based on a comparison of chemical shifts, coupling constants, temperature dependence of OH signals, and ROESY spectra of the singly and doubly substituted T-x and T-x-x. The characteristic strong intrachain inter-residue O(3)ÀH´´´O(5') H-bond of celluloses was detected in the singly and doubly substituted naphthalenes. Also detected was a weakly persistent flip-flop H-bond between HO(2') and HO(6). Weak interchain interactions were, however, observed only for the units closest to the link of T-x-x in (D 6 )DMSO and for parallel units of T-1-1 and T-3-3 in (D 5 )pyridine. Interchain interactions in T-x-x are stronger in (D 5 )pyridine than in (D 6 )DMSO and decrease with increasing distance from the link. The solidstate CP/MAS 13 C-NMR spectra of T-x-x were compared with those of T-x and of celluloses. The spectrum of T-8 and, surprisingly, also of T-8-8 strongly resembles that of cellulose II and not that of cellulose I b , evidencing that a flexible template possessing parallel cellodextrin chains does not impose sufficient constraints on the structure of supramolecular assemblies to mimic cellulose I b , but leads to a valuable mimic of cellulose II.Introduction. ± There are at least four polymorphs of celluloses, namely cellulose I ± IV [2 ± 4]. The two most common polymorphs are cellulose I, the native form, and cellulose II, the mercerised or regenerated form. Cellulose II is the most stable polymorph. There are two allomorphs of cellulose I. Cellulose I a predominates in algal celluloses [5] [6] and cellulose I b in plant celluloses. Cellulose I b is more stable than cellulose I a [7]. Common to all celluloses is the 4 C 1 conformation of all 1,4-linked b-dglucopyranosyl moieties and the intrachain inter-residue O(3)ÀH´´´O(5') H-bond 2 ). Alternating glucopyranosyl units are rotated by ca. 1808 relative to each other; thus, cellobiosyl moieties are the repeating unit of celluloses. Current three-dimensional structures of celluloses are mainly based on limited X-ray-diffraction data of polycrystalline samples (a few tens of reflections) and computer modeling. Additional models for cellulose II are derived from the crystal structure of b-cellotetraose hemihydrate and from a neutron-diffraction analysis of deuteriated cellulose II fibres (see below).