▎ 摘　　要

NOVELTY - Substituted cyclophane compounds (I) are new. USE - (I) are useful: for sequestering polyaromatic hydrocarbons from a sample comprising polyaromatic hydrocarbons; in a chromatographic method of separating polyaromatic hydrocarbons in a sample comprising more than one type of polyaromatic hydrocarbon; for detecting the presence of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in a sample; and for exfoliating graphene nanoribbons in multi-layered graphene nano-ribbon stack (all claimed). ADVANTAGE - (I) exhibit strong binding affinity with the polyaromatic hydrocarbons. DETAILED DESCRIPTION - Substituted cyclophane compounds of formula (I) are new. R1a = H, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, alkoxy, OH, NH2, SH, halo, P(R1b)2, CHO, COOR1b, COOM1a, CH2OR1b, CH2OM1a, OR1b, NHCOR1b, CONHR1b, CONHM1a, CON(R1b)2, N3, NO2, B(OR1b)2, B(OM1a)2, CN, N(R1b)3+, P(R1b)3+, PO(R1b)2 or OM1a, preferably H; R1b = H, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl or aryl; n = greater than or equal to 0, preferably 0 or 1 or greater than or equal to 2; M1a = Li, Na, K, Rb or Cs; and X1a = organic or inorganic negatively charged ion. INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are also included for: (1) sequestering polyaromatic hydrocarbons from a sample comprising polyaromatic hydrocarbons, comprising mixing at least one cyclophane with the sample, where the polyaromatic hydrocarbons form an inclusion complex with the cyclophanes, and the ring structure of the cyclophanes comprises either two 4,4'-(1,4-phenylene)bispyridinium units and two para-phenylene connected via four methylene bridges or two 4,4'-(4,4'-(n)phenylene)bispyridinium (where n is greater than or equal to 1) units and two para-phenylene units connected via four methylene bridges; (2) a chromatographic method of separating polyaromatic hydrocarbons in a sample comprising more than one type of polyaromatic hydrocarbon, comprising passing the sample over a solid support material on which the cyclophane is immobilized, where the polyaromatic hydrocarbons undergo reversible electron donor-acceptor complexation and dissociation interactions with the polyaromatic hydrocarbons, so that different types of the polyaromatic hydrocarbons are separated from one another as they pass over the solid support material; (3) detecting the presence of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in a sample, comprising mixing the cyclophane with the sample, where the polyaromatic hydrocarbons form inclusion complexes with the cyclophanes and produce a visible color change in the sample, and monitoring the color change; and (4) exfoliating graphene nanoribbons in multi-layered graphene nano-ribbon stack, comprising exposing the multi-layered graphene nano-ribbon stack to a solution comprising the cyclophanes, where the cyclophanes form poly(pseudorotaxanes) with the graphene nanoribbons which results in the exfoliation of individual nanoribbons as the result of Coulombic repulsion between the cyclophanes.