Carcerand

In host–guest chemistry, a carcerand (from Latin carcer 'prison') is a host molecule that completely entraps its guest (which can be an ion, atom or other chemical species) so that it will not escape even at high temperatures.

In another configuration the 4 lower rim functional groups are aldehydes which condense with O-Phenylenediamine to the corresponding di-imines.

Ferrocene can be introduced by heating with the hemicarcerand in a large bulky solvent such as tripiperidylphosphine oxide.

The internal cavity of a carcerand can be as large as 1700 Å3 (1.7 nm3) when six hemicarcerands form a single octahedral compound.

[5] This is accomplished by dynamic covalent chemistry in a one-pot condensation of 6 equivalents of a tetraformyl calixarene and 12 equivalents of ethylene diamine with trifluoroacetic acid catalyst in chloroform at room temperature followed by reduction of the imine bonds with sodium borohydride.