Macrocyclic Arenes Functionalized with BODIPY: Rising Stars among Chemosensors and Smart Materials

Abstract

Macrocycles play a crucial role in supramolecular chemistry and the family of macrocyclic arenes represents one of the most important types of hosts. Among them, calixarenes, resorcinarenes and pillararenes are the most commonly encountered macrocyclic arenes, and they have received considerable attention. Boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes are fascinating compounds with multiple functionalization sites and outstanding luminescence properties including high fluorescence quantum yields, large molar absorption coefficients and remarkable photo- and chemical stability. The combination of macrocyclic arenes and BODIPY dyes has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy to construct chemosensors for various guests and smart materials with tailored properties. Herein, we firstly summarize the recent advances made so far in macrocyclic arenes substituted with BODIPY. This review only focuses on the three macrocyclic arenes of calixarenes, resorcinarenes and pillararenes, as there are no other macrocyclic arenes substituted BODIPY units at the present time. Hopefully, this review will not only afford a guide and useful information for those who are interested in developing novel chemosensors and smart materials, but also inspire new opportunities in this field.