Synthesis and Supramolecular Assemblies of Tripodal 1,3,5-Tris（phenoxymethyl）-2,4,6-triethylbenzene Analogues

Tripodal 1,3,5-tris（phenoxymethyl）-2,4,6-triethylbenzene analogues have been synthesized and structurally characterized by IR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopy and HRMS, and additionally, the single crystal structures of compounds bearing ortho- （7）, meta- （9） and para-hydroxymethyl （11） functions have been determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The structural study revealed that compounds 7, 9, and II do not adopt the expected 1,3,5-alternate conformation in the solid state. The packing diagrams of compounds 7, 9, and 11 revealed that six hydrophilic hydroxymethyl groups from six individual molecules （7, 9 and 11） were arranged in close contact via intermolecular hydrogen-bond interactions. For compounds 7 and 9, the six hydroxyl groups formed a distorted hexagonal ring; however, formation of such a hexagonal ring was not clear in the case of compound 11. Compounds 9 and 11 were found to form hydrophobic cavities via intermolecular hydrogen-bond interactions in the solid state, and the cavities were occupied by two ethyl groups from the two cavity-forming molecules.