Complexation of carbon nanorings with fullerenes*

To explore the supramolecular properties of the hollow space of carbon nanotubes, the belt-shaped conjugated systems with sizable and deep cavities are intriguing molecules. Recently, we found that the “carbon nanorings”, cyclic [6]paraphenyleneacetylene ([6]CPPA), and the related compounds involving two naphthylene rings, form stable inclusion complexes with fullerenes in solution as well as in the solid state. The stability of these complexes correlates well with the van der Waals (VDW) contact between the host and guest. Thus, carbon nanorings having a deep cavity should form considerably stable complexes with fullerenes. In this context, we have designed a new carbon nanoring, cyclic [6](1,4)naphthyleneacetylene. The host forms considerably stable inclusion complexes with fullerenes and can act as the best fluorescence sensor for fullerenes among all the known hosts. The NMR spectra reveal the formation of two major conformational isomers, in which five or six naphthylene rings surround a guest molecule to gain wide contact area. The high affinity between C60 and naphthylene rings similar to an ion-dipolar interaction plays an important role in the novel guest-induced conformation fixation.