The crystal structures of the 1:2 host:guest complexes of dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 (isomer B) with potassium phenoxide and dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 (isomer A) with sodium phenoxide have been determined. The potassium phenoxide complex crystallizes in space group [Formula: see text] with a = 10.023(2), b = 11.238(2), c = 7.546(2) Å, α = 95.73(2), β = 103.04(2), γ = 92.03(2)°, and Z = 1. The sodium phenoxide complex crystallizes in space group P21/n with a = 19.185(12), b = 13.266(5), c = 13.038(5) Å, β = 96.55(4)°, and Z = 4. Both structures were solved by direct methods and refined by full matrix least-squares calculations to a residual, R, of 0.035. The host conformation as well as the metal cation coordination differ considerably in the two structures. In the potassium phenoxide complex, the two cations are related by symmetry and have, consequently, the same chemical environment. Each potassium is located approximately halfway between the plane formed by the crown ether oxygens and the phenoxide anions and is coordinated to four of the crown oxygens and to two phenoxide oxygens. The oxygens of the crown are found to outline an elliptical cavity and to lie approximately in a plane. In the sodium phenoxide complex, the two sodiums have different crystallographic and chemical environments. One sodium is coordinated to the six hexaether oxygens, with distances ranging from 2.36to2.84 Å, and to one of the phenoxide oxygens. The other sodium is coordinated to only one of the crown oxygens and to three of the phenoxide oxygens. The hexaether adopts a highly irregular conformation.
