When an intramolecular cavity exists in a molecule, it can trap another chemical species to form a host-guest complex. We examine the formation of such an inclusion complex with cucurbit[n]uril (CBn, n = 6, 7) as the host to trap alkali metal or ammonium ions as the guest, by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The results show that the inclusion complexes are formed between the three-dimensional cylinder of CBn hosts and the guest cations. Selectivity of the complex formation is dependent both on (1) ion-dipole interactions between the cylindrical portal of the CBn hosts and the guest cations and (2) the hydrophobic interactions at the inner cavity of CBn.
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Osaka et al. (2006) studied this question.
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