Control of phosphate capture and release is vital in environmental, biological, and pharmaceutical contexts. However, the binding of trivalent phosphate (PO 4 3- ) in water is exceptionally difficult due to its high hydration energy. Based on the anion coordination chemistry of phosphate, in this study, four charge-neutral tripodal hexaurea receptors (L 1 -L 4 ), which were equipped with morpholine and polyethylene glycol terminal groups to enhance their solubility in water, were synthesized to enable the pH-triggered phosphate binding and release in aqueous solutions. Encouragingly, the receptors were found to bind PO 4 3- anion in a 1 : 1 ratio via hydrogen bonds in 100 % water solutions, with L 1 exhibiting the highest binding constant (1.2×10 3 M -1 ). These represent the first neutral anion ligands to bind phosphate in 100 % water and demonstrate the potential for phosphate capture and release in water through pH-triggered mechanisms, mimicking native phosphate binding proteins. Furthermore, L 1 can also bind multiple bioavailable phosphate species, which may serve as model systems for probing and modulating phosphate homeostasis in biological and biomedical researches.