Exclusive endo-cavity interplay of t-Bu-calix[6]arene with C₇₀

Toluene solutions of fullerene C₇₀ and t-Bu-calix[6]arene form a 2:1 inclusion complex that has been structurally authenticated using synchrotron source X-ray diffraction data. Remarkably, the fullerene is not included in the cavity of the calixarene, and this has implications in predicting the structures of fullerene complexes of other calixarenes and container molecules. The fullerenes shroud the exo surface of the calixarene at the van der Waals limit, with the fullerenes arranged into corrugated sheets, with each calixarene interdigitated at the upper rim with the upper rim of two other calixarenes, the macrocycles forming a bilayer separating the sheets of fullerenes.