Multilayered Inclusion Nanocycles of Anionic Spiroborates

Multilayered spiroborate nanocycles were prepared from tris- or tetrakis­(dihydroxynaphthalene) and tetrahydroxyanthraquinone as pillar and crossbar units via the reversible formation of a spiroborate linkage. The four-layered spiroborate nanocycle recognized two cationic aromatic guests simultaneously and exhibited the ability to form a supramolecular one-dimensional array by combining with methyl viologen dimer as the ditopic guest.