Template-controlled synthesis of chiral cyclohexylhemicucurbit[8]urilElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: A detailed description of synthesis, MS, NMR, crystallographic and computational details. CCDC 1053111. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c5cc04101e

Enantiomerically pure cyclohexylhemicucurbit[8]uril (cycHC[8]), possessing a barrel-shaped cavity, has been prepared in high yield on a gram scale from either ( R , R , N , N ′)-cyclohex-1,2-diylurea and formaldehyde or cycHC[6]. In either case, a dynamic covalent library is first generated from which the desired cycHC can be amplified using a suitable anion template. Efficient control of macrocycle size was achieved by dynamic covalent chemistry and anionic template.