Cucurbit[n]urils (n = 7, 8) can strongly bind neutral hydrophilic molecules in water was written by Li, Ming-Shuang;Quan, Mao;Yang, Xi-Ran;Jiang, Wei. And the article was included in Science China: Chemistry in 2022.Synthetic Route of C8H18O4 This article mentions the following:
It is challenging to recognize neutral hydrophilic mols. in water. Effective use of hydrogen bonds in water is generally accepted to be the key to success. In contrast, hydrophobic cavity is usually considered to play an insignificant role or only to provide a nonpolar microenvironment for hydrogen bonds. Herein, we report that hydrophobic cavity alone can also strongly bind neutral, highly hydrophilic mols. in water. We found that cucurbit[n]urils (n = 7, 8) bind 1,4-dioxane, crown ethers and monosaccharides in water with remarkable affinities. The best binding constant reaches 107 M-1 for cucurbit[8]uril, which is higher than its binding affinities to common organic cations. D. functional theory (DFT) calculations and control experiments reveal that the hydrophobic effect is the major contributor to the binding through releasing the cavity water and/or properly occupying the weakly hydrated cavity. However, hydrophobic cavity still prefers nonpolar guests over polar guests with similar size and shape. In the experiment, the researchers used many compounds, for example, 2,5,8,11-Tetraoxadodecane (cas: 112-49-2Synthetic Route of C8H18O4).
2,5,8,11-Tetraoxadodecane (cas: 112-49-2) belongs to ethers. Relative to alcohols, ethers are generally less dense, are less soluble in water, and have lower boiling points. They are relatively unreactive. Ethers can form hydrogen bonds with other molecules (alcohols, amines, etc.) that have O―H or N―H bonds. The ability to form hydrogen bonds with other compounds makes ethers particularly good solvents for a wide variety of organic compounds and a surprisingly large number of inorganic compounds.Synthetic Route of C8H18O4
Referemce:
Ether – Wikipedia,
Ether | (C2H5)2O – PubChem