Synthetic progress of CTVs with different numbers of substituents on aromatic units

Abstract

This review focuses on synthetic examples of cyclotriveratrylene (CTV) derivatives with different numbers of substituents on the cavity rims, where the number of substituents on aromatic units ranges from zero to four. The synthesis of hydrocarbon cyclotribenzylene with the unsubstituted aromatic unit was initially and briefly introduced, and then the synthetic routes of hydrocarbon cyclotribenzylene with monosubstituted, disubstituted, and trisubstituted aromatic hydrocarbon unit, respectively, were also described. Among them, the optimization of the synthetic routes of C3- or C1-symmetry CTV derivatives with disubstituted aromatic units were especially emphasized. Finally, the synthesis of CTV analogues with the tetrasubstituted aromatic unit, cyclotrixylohydroquinene (CTX), was discussed, which was conducted by commercially available tetrasubstituted o-xylohydroquinone as a starting material. Besides the synthetic progress of CTV derivatives, this review also provides some insights into their host–guest research and potential applications.