New Potassium- and Cesium-selective Ionophoric Bis(crown ether)s Derived from Xanthene-4,5-dicarboxylic Acid

A series of bis(crown ether)sbased-upon a xanthene-4,5-dicarboxylic acid skeletonwas prepared and their ionophoric properties towardalkali metal cations were investigated. Bis(crownether)s bearing 15-crown-5 and 18-crown-6 moietiesexhibited pronounced extraction efficiencies towardK⁺ and Cs⁺ ions, respectively, and theextraction constant estimated by solvent extractionstudies was as high as 10⁹ for the 2-K⁺ and 3-Cs⁺ systems. Using UVtitration of potassium picrate with 2 in THF, thecomplex was found to have a structure of a completelyencapsulated guest in the host. In transportexperiments, the bis(crown ether)s showed nosignificant selectivity pattern compared withextraction results, again implying the strongcomplexation of bis(crown ether)s. Ion-selectiveelectrode studies also demonstrated that the selectiveionophoric properties of 2 toward K⁺ werereminiscent of the natural antibiotic valinomycinexcept for a somewhat slow response.