Enhancing K+ transport activity and selectivity of synthetic K+ channels via electron-donating effects

A minor alteration in structure of a previously reported synthetic K+ channel via replacing the electron-withdrawing group with an electron-donating group leads to enhancement in activity by 160% and in selectivity by >50%. As a result, the new K+ channel 10F5, despite having a simple structure, exhibits a high K+/Na+ selectivity of 14.0.