A selection of heteroaryl fluorosulfates were readily synthesized using commercial SO2F2 gas. These substrates are highly efficient coupling partners in the Suzuki reaction. Through judicious selection of Pd-catalysts, the fluorosulfate functionality is differentiated from bromide and chloride; the order of reactivity being: -Br > -OSO2F > -Cl. Exploiting this trend allowed the stepwise chemoselective synthesis of a number of polysubstituted pyridines, including the drug, Etoricoxib.

Large methylazacalix[n]pyridines (n = 6-9) were synthesized effectively from the Pd-catalyzed macrocyclic fragment coupling reactions between alpha,omega-dibrominated and alpha,omega-diaminated linear oligomers. As macrocyclic host molecules, they formed a 1:1 complex with fullerenes C(60) and C(70) with association constants ranging from 3 x 10(4) to 1 x 10(5) M(-1).

The (NH)(m)(NMe)(4-m)-bridged calix[4]pyridines (m = 1-4) 19-23 were synthesized in excellent yields from deprotection of N-allyl groups of (NAllyl)(m)(NMe)(4-m)-bridged calix[4]pyridine derivatives 8 and 15-18, which were prepared in moderate yields by macrocyclic 2+2 and 1+3 coupling reactions between simple diamino- and dibromo-substituted fragments. In the solid state, (NH)(m)(NMe)(4-m)-bridged calix[4]pyridines adopted different 1,3-alternate conformations due to mainly the formation of varied conjugation systems of bridging NH units with their neighboring pyridines. In solution, all (NH)(m)(NMe)(4-m)-bridged calix[4]pyridines were very fluxional and the rates of interconversion of various conformational structures were very rapid relative to the NMR time scale. While (NH)(4)-bridged calix[4]pyridine 23 formed the strongest conjugation system, (NH)(2)(NMe)(2)-bridged calix[4]pyridine 21 acted as a selective fluorescence probe in the recognition of zinc(II) ion in solution with the dramatic enhancement of fluorescence intensity.