Synthesis and clathrates of oligomeric 2-O-naphthoide macrocycles.

New macrocyclic O-naphthoides 4-6 were synthesized from dehydration reactions of 3-hydroxy- and 7-tert-butyl-3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acids, respectively. Their X-ray structures were determined and their clathrate inclusion properties were investigated. Hexamer 6 formed an inclusion clathrate with four chloroform molecules. The trimer 5, by analogy with tri-o-thymotide, was studied for its potential optical resolution effects.