Macrocyclic polyether- and polythioether-diesters and dithioesters from 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid

The synthesis of nine macrocyclic polyether- and polythioether-diesters 9–13 and dithioesters 14–17 derived from 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid are reported. The macrocycles were prepared under conditions of high dilution in the absence of metal templates in consistently good yields and their structures were confirmed by ¹H and ¹³C nmr spectroscopy. A macrocyclic phenanthroline-pyridine tetraester 18 is also recorded.