A CTV Analogue: Arene-Persubstituted Cyclotrixylohydroquinoylene and Its Derivatives

A crown-shaped cyclotriveratrylene (CTV) analogue with persubstituted arene unitsnamely, cyclotrixylohydroquinoylene (CTX)was synthesized from tetrasubstituted o-xylohydroquinone. Importantly, a series of CTX derivatives were prepared by introducing second bridged methylene, phenylphosphine oxide, and dimethylsilyl at the middle rim, referred to as CTX­[CH₂], CTX­[P­(O)­Ph], and CTX­[SiMe₂], respectively, with the completely locked crown conformation, leading to the formation of unique C₃-symmetric Chinese censer-shaped pocket structures. In addition, the water-soluble CTX­[CH₂] derivative (WCTX­[CH₂]) was synthesized from CTX­[CH₂] by simple oxidation reaction with the modification at the upper rim, and its host–guest interaction with methyl viologen in water was investigated.