One-step syntheses of very large cage-type molecules from aromatic sub-unitsElectronic supplementary data (ESI) available: analytical and spectroscopic data for compounds 3–5 and 8. See http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/cc/b1/b108124c/

Polycondensation of a trifunctional, ketone-activated fluoroarene with bis- or tris-phenoxides under pseudo-high dilution conditions affords a series of very large macropolycyclic aromatic ether ketones; isolation and characterisation of these materials by NMR, MALDI-TOF MS and, for one example (after reduction of the carbonyl groups to methylene linkages) by X-ray crystallography, confirms that polycondensations which would normally lead to highly branched or cross-linked polymers can also give rise to large, closed-network molecules.