Engineering 1,3-Alternate Calixcarbazole for Recognition and Sensing of Bisphenol F in Water.

Herein, we report a carbazolyl tubular macrocycle (3), which possesses a “π-tube” capable of encapsulating and sensing bisphenol F (BPF), which is a toxic industrial material. In this work, the synthesis of 3, its conformation in solution as well as its binding property to BPF have been investigated. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ultraviolet–visible light (UV-vis), fluorescence spectra, and molecular modeling studies reveal that the “π-tube” of 3 in 1,3-alternate conformation could encapsulate BPF with 1:1 binding stoichiometry in water, with its orthogonal tweezers sandwiching the two phenol units of BPF. Moreover, 3 could serve as a sensitive fluorescent probe for BPF (limitation of detection = 157 nM).