Metallacrowns of Copper(II) and aminohydroxamates: thermodynamics of self assembly and host-guest equilibria

Metallacrowns (MCs) of copper(II) and aminohydroxamic acids have been extensively studied during the past few decades. Although their discovery dates back more than twenty years, systematic studies on the thermodynamics of self assembly of MCs and of their capability to act as guests for anions and cations are quite recent. This review focuses on the solution studies of these metallamacrocycles and, in particular, the following aspects are discussed: (i) the thermodynamics of self-assembly of 12-MC-4 complexes: (ii) the thermodynamics of self-assembly and core metal substitution of 15-MC-5 species; (iii) the thermodynamics of host–guest equilibria between 15-MC-5 complexes and anions.