Ternary Complexes Comprising Cucurbit[10]uril, Porphyrins, and Guests

As easy as pi: The spacious 870-Å3 cavity of CB[10] is able to accommodate free base and metalated tetra(N-methylpyridyl)porphyrins inside. The complexes blend the advantageous recognition and photophysical properties of these two classes of macrocycles and promote the formation ternary complexes (see picture) in water through π–π stacking interactions.