A novel shell-like supramolecular assembly of 4,4'-bipyridyl derivatives and a twisted cucurbit[14]uril molecule.

This work showed that the 4,4′-bipyridyl group and alkyl chains of 4,4′-bipyridyl derivatives are completely located in the shell-like cavity of the twisted cucurbit[14]uril molecule and formed novel shell-like 1 : 1 inclusion complexes. As it is enthalpy-driven the complexation benefits from ion–dipole interactions.