Water Structure Recovery in Chaotropic Anion Recognition: High-Affinity Binding of Dodecaborate Clusters to γ-Cyclodextrin.

Dodecaborate anions of the type B12X12(2-) and B12X11Y(2-) (X=H, Cl, Br, I and Y=OH, SH, NH3(+), NR3(+)) form strong (K(a) up to 10(6) L mol(-1), for B12Br12(2-)) inclusion complexes with γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD). The micromolar affinities reached are the highest known for this native CD. The complexation exhibits highly negative enthalpies (up to -25 kcal mol(-1)) and entropies (TΔS up to -18.