New macrocyclic polyether-diester ligands (3-5) containing the 4H-pyran-4-one subcyclic unit have been prepared by treating various glycols with dimethyl chelidonate (10). In the reaction of compound 10 with ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, two noncyclic diester and tetraester (6-9) were produced in each case. The new marcocyclic ligand 4 formed stable complexes with benzylammonium pe...

The use of “fuel” compounds to drive chemical systems out equilibrium is currently interest because the potential for temporally controlled, responsive behavior. We have recently shown that transiently formed crown ethers exhibit counterintuitive templation effects when generated in presence alkali metal cations: “matched” cations, such as K+ with an 18-crown-6 analogue, suppress formation macr...