Self-assembled, optically-active {naphthalene diimide}U{cucurbit[8]uril} ensembles in an aqueous environment

Naphthalene diimides (NDIs) are shown to arrange spontaneously co-facially with cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) in an aqueous environment through purely non-covalent interactions. The resultant 2 : 2 supramolecular complex of NDI and CB[8] is highly fluorescent (>30 times more than the constituent NDIs) due to the formation of NDI-NDI excimers within the supramolecular complex.