Precise Facial Control in Threading Guests into a Molecular Cage and the Formation of a Turtlelike Supramolecular Complex

Caught in a cage: Two different thread components and a molecular cage generate different [2]pseudorotaxane-like complexes, which represent a new type of molecular machinery. An unprecedented type of molecular motion is generated by the addition of K+ ions and [2,2,2]cryptand units to this mixture and their removal from it, in which the rodlike components penetrate the molecular cage alternately through its different faces.