Strong Binding of Hydrocarbons to Cucurbituril Probed by Fluorescent Dye Displacement: A Supramolecular Gas‐Sensing Ensemble

Abstract

Hydrocarbons are no longer afraid of water when they are reversibly encapsulated by cucurbituril (see picture). The pumpkin‐shaped molecular container displays a high affinity and selectivity towards neutral molecules in salt‐free aqueous solutions. A supramolecular sensing ensemble, composed of cucurbit[6]uril and an anchored indicator dye, is introduced as a highly sensitive fluorescence‐based online detection tool for gas binding in solution.

Encapsulation of small gas molecules and rare gas atoms inside the octa acid cavitand

“…At the forefront among them is molecular hydrogen [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Natural hydrocarbons such as ethane, ethylene, and acetylene [24][25][26][27][28][29] are also important probable choices in this regard. These hydrocarbons have found importance in different other applications as well.…”

Threading the Needle: Fluorescent Poly-pseudo-rotaxanes for Size-Exclusion Sensing

“…31,41,42 Thus, steady-state emission measurements were carried out below the saturation concentrations Page 4 of 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 (Fig. S7).…”

Pillar[n]arenes and Other Cavitands: Aspects of Complex Thermodynamics

“…[26,[40][41][42][43] Here, we will consider only liquid phase inclusion phenomena of guest molecules in the cavities of cavitands. It is possible for solvent molecules to access the cavities of host molecules by interacting with their portals or inner walls.…”