Tetranitroresorcinarenes 1 and 2 were obtained in two steps from commercially available substrates (see SI). First, the condensation of 2-nitroresorcinol with formaldehyde in aqueous NaOH gave 3 in 75 % yield. Analogous condensation with isovaleraldehyde led to the formation of 4 as a mixture of regioisomers rccc-4 and rcct-4. The required rccc-4 (all aliphatic tails down) was isolated by column chromatography in a 45 % yield. Next, both tetranitroresorcinarenes 3 and rccc-4 were O-bridged using bromochloromethane in DMF/Cs2CO3, to give 1 (45 % ) and 2 (35 %), respectively. Compounds 5-7 were obtained according to the literature procedures. 39