Synthesis and metal transport ability of a new series of thiamacrocycles containing thiol and disulfide groups inside the ring

Abstract Synthetic methods for thiamacrocycles containing two thiol groups or a disulfide linkage and their abilities to effect single heavy‐metal‐ion transport across a liquid membrane were examined. High Ag+ selectivity was accomplished by the thiol or disulfide hosts, although all the corresponding crown ether analogs bearing a disulfide group showed no Ag+ selectivity. The difference of the transport preferences among the thiacrown ethers prepared here is considered to be reflected by the position and the number of the sulfur atoms ligating to Ag+ and the cavity size of the hosts. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 12:276–281, 2001