Recognition and Encapsulation of an Electroactive Guest within a Dynamically Folded Polymer

Diaminotriazine-functionalized polymer 1 folds in nonpolar media into unimolecular “micelles”, in which the diaminotriazine units are inwardly directed to form a polar pocket analogous to the active sites found in proteins. To explore the possibility of site isolation within this pocket we synthesized the redox active guest 6-ferrocenyluracil 2 . Encapsulation of guest 2 by polymer 1 was established by NMR studies; functional site isolation was demonstrated through cyclic voltammetry studies.