Shape-persistent macrocycles:: Building blocks for complex organic and polymeric architectures

Alkyl- and Oligostyrene substituents were attached to shape-persistent macrocycles based on a phenyl-ethynyl backbone. In good solvents for both the rigid core and the flexible corona no aggregation occurred. Whereas, addition of a solvent that selectively solubilizes the corona induced a solvophobic aggregation. For alkyl substituted rings the experimental data were described by a monomer-dimer equilibrium. In contrast, the oligostyrene substituted rings formed more expanded aggregates which were investigated by scattering and by imaging methods. The superstructures are consequently described as hollow supramolecular cylindrical brushes.