Bisamides derived from azulene-1,3- and -5,7-dicarboxylic acids as new building blocks for anion receptors.

Bisamides based on the azulene moiety were investigated as building blocks for anion receptors. In the course of these studies, derivatives of azulene-1,3- and -5,7-dicarboxylic acid were synthesized and thoroughly characterized. The anion affinities of the derivatives based on functionalization in the five-membered ring and in the seven-membered ring were determined by (1)H NMR titration. The structural analysis of these building blocks was performed by X-ray diffractometry, molecular modelling and 2D NMR spectroscopy. The five-membered ring derivatives are easy to obtain, offer a binding site preorganized in the syn-syn conformation and bind anions with a strength similar to those of pyrrole-based analogues. There is also strong evidence for aromatic CH...anion interactions. The ligands substituted at the 5- and 7-positions offer a binding cleft with an uncommon geometry that originates from the seven-membered ring and seems to be complementary to the chloride anion.