Pillararene-inspired arenes: Synthesis, properties and applications compared to the parent macrocycle

Within supramolecular chemistry, pillararenes have distinguished themselves from other synthetic host molecules by their straightforward synthesis, symmetry, electron-rich cavity and versatile functionalization. In the short time since their development, the macrocycles have received significant attention with applications in diverse research fields. Since 2013, the development of novel pillararene-inspired macrocycles has become an emerging topic to achieve new functional materials and overcome several prominent limitations of the parent scaffold. This review summarizes the synthesis and applications of the newly developed macrocycles and compares their performance to pillararenes. The first part systematically outlines the different modification pathways and the corresponding syntheses. The second part features and evaluates their diverse applications in guest recognition, sensing, separation technologies, catalysis, molecular machines, drug delivery, supramolecular polymers and metal nanoclusters.