Pillararenes as macrocyclic hosts: a rising star in metal ion separation

Pillararenes are macrocyclic oligomers of alkoxybenzene akin to calixarenes but tethered at the 2,5-positions via methylene bridges. Benefiting from their unique pillar-shaped architecture favorable for diverse functionalization and versatile host-guest properties, pillararenes decorated with chelat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemical communications (Cambridge, England) England), 2019-07, Vol.55 (55), p.7883-7898
Main Authors: Chen, Lixi, Cai, Yimin, Feng, Wen, Yuan, Lihua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adsorbents
Calixarenes
Chelation
Feature extraction
Heavy metals
Ionic liquids
Ions
Metal ions
Oligomers
Organic chemistry
Separation
Supramolecular compounds
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Summary:Pillararenes are macrocyclic oligomers of alkoxybenzene akin to calixarenes but tethered at the 2,5-positions via methylene bridges. Benefiting from their unique pillar-shaped architecture favorable for diverse functionalization and versatile host-guest properties, pillararenes decorated with chelating groups worked excellently as supporting platforms to construct extractants or adsorbents for metal ion separation. This feature article provides a detailed summary of pillararenes in Ln/An separation by liquid-liquid extraction and heavy metal separation by solid-liquid extraction. The preorganization effect of the rigid pillararene framework has a profound impact on the extraction of metal ions, and a unique extraction mechanism is observed when employing ionic liquids as solvents. The rich host-guest chemistry of pillararenes enables construction of a wide variety of supramolecular materials as metal ion adsorbents. We also discuss the differences between pillararenes and several well-known macrocycles, with a focus on the metal-ligand coordination and its influencing factors. We hope this review will provide useful information and unleash new opportunities in this field. This feature article reviews the development of functionalized pillararenes as supramolecular materials for lanthanide and actinide separation and heavy metal removal.
ISSN:1359-7345
1364-548X
DOI:10.1039/c9cc03292d