Calixarene chemistry, at the turn of the millennium, is a field approaching true maturity. In many areas, applications are real and important, and the arsenal of structures based on calixarenes provides tools effective in numerous areas of supramolecular chemistry. In this book, chapters contributed by a broad spectrum of international authors provide a variety of perspectives upon the progress and future of calixarene chemistry. Issues covered in depth include: Calixarene synthesis, with all its subtleties and sophistication. Forces at play in the inclusion of neutral and charged molecules by calixarenes. Theoretical analyses of calixarene properties. Dynamics and thermodynamics of calixarenes and their complexes. Nanocomposite construction based on calixarene aggregates. Calixarenes on surfaces. Analytical applications of calixarenes. Catalysis by calixarenes and their complexes. Resource recovery and waste treatment with calixarenes. New directions in calixarene chemistry. Hetero- and homo-calixarenes. Bioactive calixarenes. Coordination chemistry of calixarenes. Calixarenes in the solid state. A/LISTA

The tenn "calixarenes," introduced in 1978 by D. Gutsche to describe the cyclic oligomers produced by condensation of p-substituted phenols with fonnaldehyde, is now universally accepted in the chemical community. The condensation of phenol with fonnaldehyde was studied in the last century by A. von Baeyer. Early in this century, L. Baekeland produced the first entirely synthetic polymers from phenol-fonnaldehyde condensates and the possibility that cyclic condensation products could be obtained from t-butylphenol, and fonnaldehyde was mentioned as early as in the beginning of the 1940's by A. Zinke. Despite their long history, the realisation that calixarenes may have very significant applications and uses in supramolecular chemistry is a relatively recent phenomenon. Calixarene chemistry, in contrast to their discovery, started slowly in the 1970's but rapidly gained momentum throughout the 1980's. Following C. Pedersens discovery of the crown ethers and the seminal developments of J. -M. Lehn and D. Cram with cryptands and spherands - all three honoured with the 1987 Nobel Chemistry Prize - the time was right for a surge of interest in research areas, frequently referred to as host-guest chemistry, receptor or supramolecular chemistry, and including important comparisons with biological processes and the development of new advanced materials. Now, the cyclic, bowl or basket-shaped calixarene molecules were looked on in a different light. Rather than "having developed from harmful by-products of phenoplasts manufacture" they were now seen as potentially valuable macrocyclic receptor molecules.

The tenn "calixarenes," introduced in 1978 by D. Gutsche to describe the cyclic oligomers produced by condensation of p-substituted phenols with fonnaldehyde, is now universally accepted in the chemical community. The condensation of phenol with fonnaldehyde was studied in the last century by A. von Baeyer. Early in this century, L. Baekeland produced the first entirely synthetic polymers from phenol-fonnaldehyde condensates and the possibility that cyclic condensation products could be obtained from t-butylphenol, and fonnaldehyde was mentioned as early as in the beginning of the 1940's by A. Zinke. Despite their long history, the realisation that calixarenes may have very significant applications and uses in supramolecular chemistry is a relatively recent phenomenon. Calixarene chemistry, in contrast to their discovery, started slowly in the 1970's but rapidly gained momentum throughout the 1980's. Following C. Pedersens discovery of the crown ethers and the seminal developments of J. -M. Lehn and D. Cram with cryptands and spherands - all three honoured with the 1987 Nobel Chemistry Prize - the time was right for a surge of interest in research areas, frequently referred to as host-guest chemistry, receptor or supramolecular chemistry, and including important comparisons with biological processes and the development of new advanced materials. Now, the cyclic, bowl or basket-shaped calixarene molecules were looked on in a different light. Rather than "having developed from harmful by-products of phenoplasts manufacture" they were now seen as potentially valuable macrocyclic receptor molecules.

Calixarene chemistry, at the turn of the millennium, is a field approaching true maturity. In many areas, applications are real and important, and the arsenal of structures based on calixarenes provides tools effective in numerous areas of supramolecular chemistry. In this book, chapters contributed by a broad spectrum of international authors provide a variety of perspectives upon the progress and future of calixarene chemistry. Issues covered in depth include:
Calixarene synthesis, with all its subtleties and sophistication. Forces at play in the inclusion of neutral and charged molecules by calixarenes. Theoretical analyses of calixarene properties. Dynamics and thermodynamics of calixarenes and their complexes. Nanocomposite construction based on calixarene aggregates. Calixarenes on surfaces. Analytical applications of calixarenes. Catalysis by calixarenes and their complexes. Resource recovery and waste treatment with calixarenes. New directions in calixarene chemistry. Hetero- and homo-calixarenes. Bioactive calixarenes. Coordination chemistry of calixarenes. Calixarenes in the solid state.