Sandwich phosphate complexes of macrocyclic tris(urea) ligands and their rotation around the anion

Four heteroditopic macrocyclic ligands incorporating both anion coordination sites (tris-urea units) and a cation binding fragment (polyether) were designed for possible application in molecular devices. Sandwich-type phosphate complexes were formed, which display a reversible rotation around the anion upon protonation/deprotonation of phosphate and binding of the cation (Emim(+)).