Integrating the area under the curve yields the number of water molecules in the first solvation shell. This analysis shows that macrocycle 2 reduces ion solvation, which is reflected in a lower RDF maxima of both the Cl -(g(r)Cl-O max = 3.4 Å) and OH -(g(r)O-O max = 2.9 Å) and the consequent reduction in the number of waters in the first hydration shell. For Cl -water coordination decreases from 2.1 in 1 to 1.7 in 2 (a 19% decrease), while for OH -it decreases from 2.6 to 1.9 (a 27% reduction). The increased desolvation of OH -in 2, coupled with the higher hydration enthalpy of hydroxide, will therefore disfavour OH ⁻ binding to 2 at the membrane interface (Figure ) to a greater extent than for chloride, thereby suppressing hydroxide anion transport.