Fifty years of oxacalix[3]arenes: A review

Hexahomotrioxacalix[3]arenes, commonly called oxacalix[3]arenes, were first reported in 1962. Since then, their chemistry has been expanded to include numerous derivatives and complexes. This review describes the syntheses of the parent compounds, their derivatives, and their complexation behaviour towards cations. Extraction data are presented, as are crystal structures of the macrocycles and their complexes with guest species. Applications in fields as diverse as ion selective electrode modifiers, fluorescence sensors, fullerene separations and biomimetic chemistry are described.