The tenn "calixarenes", introduced in 1978 by D. Gutsche to describe the
cyclic oligomers produced by condensation of p-substituted phenols with
fonnaldehyde, is now universally accepted in the chemical community. The
condensation of phenol with fonnaldehyde was studied in the last century
by A. von Baeyer. Early in this century, L. Baekeland produced the first
entirely synthetic polymers from phenol-fonnaldehyde condensates and the
possibility that cyclic condensation products could be obtained from
t-butylphenol, and fonnaldehyde was mentioned as early as in the
beginning of the 1940's by A. Zinke. Despite their long history, the
realisation that calixarenes may have very significant applications and
uses in supramolecular chemistry is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Calixarene chemistry, in contrast to their discovery, started slowly in
the 1970's but rapidly gained momentum throughout the 1980's. Following
C. Pedersens discovery of the crown ethers and the seminal developments
of J. -M. Lehn and D. Cram with cryptands and spherands - all three
honoured with the 1987 Nobel Chemistry Prize - the time was right for a
surge of interest in research areas, frequently referred to as
host-guest chemistry, receptor or supramolecular chemistry, and
including important comparisons with biological processes and the
development of new advanced materials. Now, the cyclic, bowl or
basket-shaped calixarene molecules were looked on in a different light.
Rather than "having developed from harmful by-products of phenoplasts
manufacture" they were now seen as potentially valuable macrocyclic
receptor molecules.
