Novel Cation Transport Behavior of N-Octadecylmonoazacrown Ethers Cooperated with 2,6-Di(t-butyl)-4-nitrophenol

A new ‘double-cycle’ mechanism is presented for the N-octadecylmonoazacrown ether mediated cation transport to an acidic receiving phase cooperated with 2,6-di(t-butyl)-4-nitrophenol. The occurrence of the novel process may be attributable to the lower acidity of the phenol and aggregation behavior of the protonated monoazacrown ethers in the membrane phase.