Bis(functionally-substituted phenylene) semi-rigid crowns and process for making

Bis(carboalkoxy-substituted phenylene)-32-crown-10 compounds, useful as polymerizable monomers, can be formed by first reacting a functionalized dihydroxy aromatic compound with a hydroxy protecting group-substituted halopolyether, deprotecting the resulting product to form the diol, forming the corresponding tosylate, and reacting the tosylate with the same or analogous diol in a cyclization reaction to form the crown ether compound.