title: Syntheses and dynamics of donor-acceptor [2]catenanes in water.
abstract: A subset of mechanically interlocked molecules, namely, donor-acceptor [2]catenanes, have been produced in aqueous solutions in good yields from readily available precursors. The catenations are templated by strong hydrophobic and [π···π] stacking interactions, which serve to assemble the corresponding supramolecular precursors, prior to postassembly covalent modification. Dynamic (1)H NMR spectroscopic investigations performed on one of these [2]catenanes reveal that the pirouetting motion of the butadiyne-triethylene glycol chain occurs with a dramatically lower activation enthalpy, yet with a much higher negative activation entropy in water, compared to organic solvents. The preparations of mechanically interlocked molecules in water constitute the basis for the future development of complex functional molecular machinery in aqueous environments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3113, United States.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Subhadeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Basu
authors.forename: Chi-Hau
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Sue
authors.forename: Albert C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Fahrenbach
authors.forename: J Fraser
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Stoddart