| Summary: | Ester hydrates, as the intermediates of the esterification between acid and alcohol, are very short-lived and challenging to be trapped. Therefore, the crystal structures of ester hydrates have rarely been characterized. Herein, we present that the mono-deprotonated ester hydrates [CH<sub>3</sub>OSO<sub>2</sub>(OH)<sub>2</sub>]<sup>−</sup>, serving as the template for the self-assembly of a π-stacked boat-shaped macrocycle (CH<sub>3</sub>OSO<sub>2</sub>(OH)<sub>2</sub>)<sub>0.67</sub>(CH<sub>3</sub>OSO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>1.33</sub>@{[ClLCo<sup>II</sup>]<sub>6</sub>}·Cl<sub>4</sub>·13CH<sub>3</sub>OH·9H<sub>2</sub>O (<b>1</b>) (L = tris(2-benzimidazolylmethyl) amine), can be trapped in the host by multiple NH···O hydrogen bonds. In the solution of CoCl<sub>2</sub>, L, and H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> in MeOH, HSO<sub>4</sub><sup>−</sup> reacts with MeOH, producing [CH<sub>3</sub>OSO<sub>3</sub>]<sup>−</sup> via the ester hydrate intermediate of [CH<sub>3</sub>OSO<sub>3</sub>(OH)<sub>2</sub>]<sup>−</sup>. Both the product and the intermediate serve as the template directing the self-assembly of the π-stacked macrocycle, in which the short-lived ester hydrate is firmly trapped and stabilized, as revealed by single-crystal analysis.
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