The interactions of iodoperfluoroarenes and -alkanes with anions in organic solvent were studied. The data indicates that favorable halogen-bonding interactions exist between halide anions and the monodentate model compounds C(6)F(5)I and C(8)F(17)I. These data served as a basis for the development of preorganized multidentate receptors capable of high-affinity anion recognition. Several new receptor architectures were prepared, and the multidentate-iodoperfluorobenzoate-ester design, as described in a preliminary communication, was evaluated in more detail. Computation was employed to better interpret the structure-activity relationships arising from these studies. Investigations of the thermodynamics of anion binding (by van't Hoff analysis) and solvent effects reveal details of these halogen bonding interactions.