MIMs have traditionally been synthesized using template-directed strategies based on metal-ligand coordination, π-π stacking, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic forces. Sauvage and colleagues' Cu(I)-templated phenanthroline-based catenane synthesis was later adapted by Bäuerle and Cong's teams for the construction of fully π-conjugated [2]catenanes. Alternatively, Jasti et al. employed a Cu(I)-catalyzed active-template Cadiot-Chodkiewicz reaction to synthesize a series of catenanes comprising two or three interpenetrating [n]cyclo-para-phenylene-derived macrocycles of varying sizes, along with a fully π-conjugated [3]rotaxane. Itami's team introduced a spirosilane-templated approach for synthesizing all-benzene [2]catenanes and trefoils composed entirely of para-linked phenylene units, while Cong's group reported an azo-templated synthesis of an all-benzene [2]catenane consisting of meta-cycloparaphenylenes. In both cases, the silyl and azo groups were removed in the final step, yielding pure hydrocarbon-based MIMs.