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[reaction: see text] The 3,3',4'4'-tetranitrodibenzocrown ethers TNDB24C8 and TNDB30C10 form organogels with chloroalkanes at 3% w/v. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy have been used to characterize the superstructure of the gels. Gels prepared using TNDB30C10 and CHCl(3) are more fibrous and are ordered into elongated domains attributable to exposed parts of intermingled fibers. Differential scanning calorimetry shows that the gel aids in the formation of supercooled CHCl(3) (DeltaT = 21 K, DeltaH(av) = 19.0 +/- 1.5 kJ mol(-)(1)) and that the gel liquefies at 307 K.

This article reviews our recent work in constructing discrete multiporphyrin assemblies and supramolecular arrays through the application of two organising principles -crown ethers and tin(IV)porphyrin phenolates. The role of the crown ethers is illustrated by two examples: (a) the cation-induced control of the reduction potentials within a model 18C6 bearing naphthalene and naphthoquinone chromophores antipodally displaced on the crown ether in the presence of alkali metal cations and (b) in the complexation of dialkylammonium salt within the cavity of a 24C8 bischlorin system. Tin(IV)porphyrin phenolates provide a means of efficiently constructing multiporphyrin assemblies without the use of covalent bond formation. Their potential is illustrated through the formation of discrete trimers, using a "one pot" self-assembly strategy, as well as the generation of supramolecular arrays with sieve like networks.

The structure of the title compound, C20H20N4O14·H2O·CH3CN, dimerizes in the solid state to form an open‐ended box which holds two H2O and two CH3CN mol­ecules.