Polymerization of a biscalix[5]arene derivative

Recent decades have seen an increased interest in the preparation of polymers possessing host or guest moieties as the end group, which has enabled new polymeric materials such as self-healable, shape-memory, and stimuli-responsive materials. Such polymers are commonly synthesized by tethering the host or guest moieties to polymers. On the other hand, there are limited reports demonstrating the preparation of host- or guest-appended polymers by directly polymerizing the corresponding host- or guest-appended monomers, which is valuable for easy access to diverse polymers from single molecular species. However, reactive host and/or guest moieties of the monomer interfere with the polymerization reaction. Here, we report that a biscalix[5]arene host-appended molecule can be polymerized with various monomers to form the corresponding host-appended polymers. The host–guest complexation behavior of calix[5]arene-appended polymers with fullerene derivatives was studied by (1)H NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopic techniques, which revealed that the long polymer chains did not prevent host–guest complexation even when the fullerene derivative was equipped with a polymer chain. Thus, the present study shows the potential for developing polymers that have various combinations of polymer chains.