Supramolecular systems constructed by crown ether-based cryptands

Cryptands, seen as a kind of crown ether derivatives, have attracted much attention because of their three dimensional spatial structures and additional binding sites. Moreover, by changing functional groups on the third arm, various stimuli-responsive host guest systems were obtained, which have played key roles in the construction of functional supramolecular systems. The recent advances in supramolecular systems constructed by crown ether-based cryptands, and further applications, especially in supramolecular polymers are summarized in this digest paper. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.