The molecular tweezers 1 a and 1 b have an electrostatic potential on the concave sides of the molecule which is surprisingly negative for hydrocarbons. According to semiempirical calculations this is a general phenomenon in nonconjugated π-electron systems with concave-convex topology, and it explains the receptor properties of 1 a and 1 b.
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Kamieth et al. (1998) studied this question.