published as an Advance Article on the web 5th June 2001 4,4Ј-(Fluorene-9,9-diyl)diphenol ( 1) is demonstrated to be both an effective clathrate host in itself and a useful construction element to form a rigid macrocyclic host compound 2. The X-ray crystal structures of 1 and of its inclusion compounds with acetonitrile (1 : 1) and ethanol (1 : 2) as well as the inclusion compound of 2 with dimethyl sulfoxide (1 : 4) and the mixed-guest inclusion compounds of 2 with 2-picoline, 3-picoline or 4-picoline and acetone (2 : 2 : 1) are reported. Inclusion compounds of 1 with acetonitrile and ethanol are studied by thermal analysis.

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A novel cyclophane host compound, 3, featuring a macrocyclic structure with two hydroquinone dimethyl ether and two 1,1-diphenylcyclohexane construction elements assembled via benzylic ether linkages has been synthesised and its inclusion compounds with toluene, 4, and cyclohexanone, 5, have been characterised by thermal analysis and X-ray crystallography. The conformation of the cyclophane is markedly different in the two inclusion compounds. The kinetics of desolvation of 5 are deceleratory and yield an activation energy of 182 kJ mol Ϫ1 .