Dual-Way-Switchable Ester Rotaxanes Constructed Using the Recognition of Malonate Diesters.

Malonate diesters can thread into the cavity of a di(ethylene glycol)-containing macrocycle under the templating effect of a Na + ion; the corresponding rotaxanes can be synthesized with good efficiency by applying several stoppering reactions. A molecular switch, in which the interlocked macrocycle was moved between two rarely used stations (i.e., malonate and TAA) through the addition of acid/base and the presence/absence of Na + ions, was constructed using this new recognition system.