The structure of interlocked helical supramolecule formed by the self-assembly of mono-6-(4-cyano-phenyl)-β-cyclodextrin

The supramolecular self-assembly formed by newly synthesized mono-6-(4-cyano-phenyl)-β-cyclodextrin through the molecular interpenetration has been investigated and compared in both solution and the solid state, which was characterized by X-ray crystallography, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The crystal structure clearly revealed that the benzonitrile group is consecutively inserted into the adjacent cyclodextrin cavity from the second side, thus giving rise to an unusual interlocked helical supramolecular self-assembly in which the benzonitrile group acts as bridge between the cyclodextrin units. As compared with crystal, the conformation in aqueous solution indicates that the benzonitrile group prefer to be self-assembled included into another cavity from the second side of cyclodextrin to form the self-assembly.