Sailboat-Shaped Self-Complexes that Function as Controllable Rotary Switches

Bis(p‐phenylene)‐34‐crown‐10‐based substituted macrocycles bearing a dibenzylammonium side arm form sailboat‐shaped self‐complexes, in which the arm of the substituted macrocycle sticks into the cavity of the crown ether instead of threading into it. On the basis of this simple system, we easily constructed controllable rotary switches. The decomplexation/recomplexation process was realized by acid–base stimuli, and the switching process was successfully used to control the dethreading/rethreading of paraquat as a guest through the cavity of the BPP34C10 moiety of the substituted macrocycles, which rendered them promising candidates for fabricating more novel interlocked structures and molecular devices. Bis(p‐phenylene)‐34‐crown‐10‐based substituted macrocycles bearing a dibenzylammonium side arm form sailboat‐shaped self‐complexes, in which the arm of the substituted macrocycles sticks into the cavity of the crown ether ring. On the basis of this simple system, we constructed controllable rotary switches. The decomplexation/recomplexation process can be realized by acid–base stimuli.