Molecular Bowls and Clefts

The upper illustration shows the X-ray structure of a molecular bowl formed exclusively of benzene rings linked by sulfur atoms. The bowl contains a molecule of chloroform in the crystal, as shown. The lower illustration shows the X-ray structure of one of the albatrossenes, in which a deep cleft is formed by two heptaphenylnaphthyl groups attached to a central benzene ring. For more information on these and related molecules see "Short Synthesis and Structure of a Large Molecular Bowl" (A. P. West, D. Van Engen, and R. A. Pascal, Jr., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1989, 111, 6846-6847) and "The Albatrossenes: Large, Cleft-Containing, Polyphenyl Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons" (L. Tong, D. M. Ho, N. J. Vogelaar, C. E. Schutt, and R. A. Pascal, Jr., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1997, 119, 7291-7302).