Porphyrin-based receptors for selective ion bindings

The functional porphyrin derivatives in biological systems provide various motivations for the design of biomimetic functional materials. Using the porphyrin moieties, we recently have designed several types of receptor molecules for the bindings of anionic and cationic species. By the combination of hydrogen-bonding motifs and porphyrins, selective bindings of anionic species have been achieved by means of hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions. In this study, we are going to briefly review the results of recent researches on porphyrin-based host system for selective ion bindings.