Transition-metal-promoted chemoselective photoreactions at the cucurbituril rim.

When included in a supramolecular barrel with transition-metal ions as lids, bicyclic azoalkanes undergo phase-selective photolysis to afford new photoproducts and photoproduct distributions. In the presence of the macrocycle cucurbit[7]uril and Ag+ ions, 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene forms a ternary host–guest inclusion complex in which the cations are coordinated to the carbonyl rims of the host. Direct photolysis of this ternary complex provides cyclopentene as a new photoproduct. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.