Resorcinarene

Both in the crystalline state and in organic solvents, six resorcinarene molecules are known to form hexamers with an internal volume of around one cubic nanometer (nanocapsules) and shapes similar to the Archimedean solids.

[3] The resorcinarene is also the basic structural unit for other molecular recognition scaffolds, typically formed by bridging the phenolic oxygens with alkyl or aromatic spacers.

This reaction was first described by Adolf von Baeyer who described the condensation of resorcinol and benzaldehyde but was unable to elucidate the nature of the product(s).

A green chemistry procedure uses solvent-free conditions: resorcinol, an aldehyde, and p-toluenesulfonic acid are ground together in a mortar and pestle at low temperature.

Depending on the aldehyde starting material, the lower rim includes four appending groups, usually chosen to give optimal solubility.

Both in the crystalline state and in solution, they are known to form hexamers that are akin to certain Archimedean solids with an internal volume of around one cubic nanometer (nanocapsules).