Alternating 2,6-/3,5-substituted pyridine-acetylene macrocycles: π-stacking self-assemblies enhanced by intermolecular dipole-dipole interaction.

Macrocyclic compounds consisting of three 2,6-pyridylene and three 3,5-pyridylene units linked by acetylene bonds were synthesized by a Sonogashira reaction. The X-ray structures showed π-stacked pairs of two macrocycles, in which a 2,6-pyridylene unit of the one molecule overlaps a 3,5-pyridylene of the other molecule because of dipole-dipole interaction. Atomic force microscope (AFM) measurements revealed fibril structures indicating the stacking of the rigid planar macrocycles. Hydrogen-bonding ability of the macrocyclic inside was demonstrated by the addition of octyl β-D-glucopyranoside.