Selenacrown Macrocycle in Aqueous Medium: Synthesis, Redox-Responsive Self-Assembly, and Enhanced Disulfide Formation Reaction.

Organic selenides are famous for their coordination and catalytic functions in the organic phase, albeit challenging for aqueous medium. Herein, the combination of a hydrophilic body of crown ether and substitution of one oxygen atom with a selenium one provides a new type of design route for organic selenide entities with charming functions in aqueous solution. The selenacrown ether C9Se presented here intrinsically shows an amphiphile-like property. Its nanosphere structure in water readily expands the catalysis of organic selenide to aqueous substrates in thiol/disulfide conversion.