Primary and secondary directing interactions of aquated lanthanide(III) ions with p-sulfonated calix[n]arene

This review reports on the solid-state structural analysis of primary and secondary coordination interactions between aquated lanthanide(III) ions and p-sulfonatocalix[n]arenes. These different interactions control the nature of the overall packing motif of the two components in the solid-state, with a diverse range of structures accessible. Structures with higher complexity can form in ternary systems, incorporating either or both endo- and exo-calixarene cavity guest molecules.