Supramolecular Catalysis of Ester and Amide Cleavage by a Dinuclear Barium(II) Complex

Five components spontaneously self‐assemble to yield the productive complex 1 , where one barium ion delivers an ethoxide to the carbonyl group of an amide substrate anchored by means of a distal carboxylate moiety to the other barium ion. High substrate specificity, fairly high reaction rates with catalytic turnover, and competitive inhibition by inert substrates are observed.