Balancing Attraction and Repulsion: The Influence of London Dispersion in [10]Cycloparaphenylene-Fullerene Complexes.

Herein we present a systematic study of the influence of different alkyl chains in malonyl ester fullerene adducts with [10]cycloparaphenylene ([10]CPP]) and a tert-butyl (tBu) ester-substituted [10]CPP analogue. The association constants between the nanoring hosts and the fullerene guests were determined by fluorescence quenching experiments. The trends in association were rationalized by an interplay of repulsion arising from an extended volume and London dispersion as an attractive counterpart.