A series of ditopic receptors for succinic acid binding

Three ditopic-abiotic receptors (R1, R2 and R3) have been designed and synthesised in one step. The receptors have been applied for the recognition of dicarboxylic acids viz. malonic, succinic, glutaric and adipic acids. Among them, succinic acid shows the highest efficiency to all receptors. To support this observation, we have used UV-vis, NMR, single crystal X-ray techniques, theoretical calculations and a molecular modelling study.