Self-assembly of pseudo-rotaxane and rotaxane complexes using an electrostatic slippage approach.

The protonation of a cyclic tertiary amine, integrated into the structure of a dumbbell-shaped guest molecule, accelerates the sliding of the guest through the cavity of a crown ether macrocycle to yield a stable pseudo-rotaxane complex. The use of an amine with the appropriate ring size followed by a proton transfer reaction leads to the formation of an interlocked rotaxane species.