Nitrate Encapsulation within the Cavity of Polyazapyridinophane. Considerations on Nitrate−Pyridine Interactions

Interaction of nitrate anions with a cyclophane (L) containing two pyridine units connected to two diethylenetriamine bridges through methylene positions is reported both in pure water and in the solid state. The crystal structure of [H4L](NO3)4 shows that one of the nitrate anions resides in the macrocyclic cavity forming two sets of bifurcated hydrogen bonds with the four protonated amino groups of the macrocycle. This anion is symmetrically placed in the middle of the pyridine rings with distances between its nitrogen atom and the centroids of the ring of 3.58 A. Despite this location, calculations by theoretical analysis were carried out to confirm whether the stabilizing effect is due …