The present invention provides halogenated calixpyrrole, calixpyridinopyrrole, and calixpyridine macrocycles having 4-12 pyrrolic rings with greater stability, enhanced anion and neutral molecule binding affinity, and different binding selectivites as compared to their non-halogenated congeners as judged from ¹H NMR, ¹⁹F NMR and fluorescence emission spectroscopic analyses.