Redox-switchable host-guest systems based on a bisthiotetrathiafulvalene-bridged cryptand.

By attaching a bisthiotetrathiafulvalene (STTFS) unit to the third arm of the cryptand, a redox-switchable bis(m-phenylene)-32-crown-10-based cryptand was synthesized successfully. It was found that the dethreading-rethreading processes between this cryptand and the guests could be well-controlled in different redox states owing to the specific redox-active properties of the STTFS unit.