Synthesis and structure of 16 pi octaalkyltetraphenylporphyrins

Experimental and Theoretical Investigations into the Paratropic Ring Current of a Porphyrin Sheet

Anomalous induced magnetic effects were observed in a directly fused square-planar porphyrin sheet 1, in that the protons above the center of the tetraporphyrin core were characteristically shifted downfield in the 1H NMR spectrum. These observations suggest a rare paratropic ring-current effect around the planar cyclooctatetraene (COT) core of 1. To examine the spatial distribution of the induced magnetic effect, face-to-face dimeric complexes of porphyrin sheet 1 with bipyridyl-type guest molecules (G1-G3) were prepared, which provided complexation-induced shifts (CISs) of the guest molecules as a neat experimental guide to the distance dependence of the induced magnetic effects in 1. Nucleus-independent chemical shift (NICS) values of 1 were calculated by varying the distance of the probe from the plane of 1. Whereas a simple bell-type profile was estimated for the complex (1)2-(G1)4, the distance profiles of the CIS became increasingly flat for (1)2-(G2)4 and (1)2-(G3)4. Finally, we investigated the paratropic ring-current effect just above the COT core of the complex 1-(G4)2, which agrees well with the theoretically estimated distance-dependent induced magnetic effect. Consequently, both experimental and theoretical studies on the complexes of porphyrin sheets with guest molecules revealed for the first time a unique distance dependence of the paratropic ring current.

22-Hydroxybenziporphyrin: Switching of Antiaromaticity by Phenol−Keto Tautomerization

22-hydroxybenziporphyrin, a porphyrin analogue containing a phenol moiety, has been shown to exist as an equilibrium mixture of two distinctly different tautomers. One of them actually contains the hydroxy group and shows the local [6]annulene aromaticity in the phenol fragment. The other tautomer contains a keto group and exhibits a [20]annulenoid structure characterized by macrocyclic antiaromaticity. The tautomerization process has been investigated in detail using variable-temperature 1H NMR spectroscopy. The process is very fast, with an estimated activation energy of ca. 30 kJ/mol. Further insight into the energetics of the tautomerization is obtained from density functional (DFT) calculations. Surprisingly, the estimated energy of the antiaromatic keto species is 3-5 kcal/mol lower than the energy of the phenolic tautomer. The geometric and magnetic manifestations of aromaticity and antiaromaticity in the two tautomers are probed using a number of computational devices, including Wiberg bond indices, resonace weights derived from the harmonic oscillator model, and nucleus-independent chemical shifts. It is shown that mixing of phenolic and keto contributions in both tautomers is stronger than that in related tautomers of phenol. This effect is caused by extensive conjugation with the tripyrrolic unit of 22-hydroxybenziporphyrin and, to a lesser extent, by intramolecular hydrogen bonding.

Magnitude of the CH/π Interaction in the Gas Phase: Experimental and Theoretical Determination of the Accurate Interaction Energy in Benzene-methane

The accurate CH/pi interaction energy of the benzene-methane model system was experimentally and theoretically determined. In the experiment, mass analyzed threshold ionization spectroscopy was applied to the benzene-methane cluster in the gas phase, prepared in a supersonic molecular beam. The binding energy in the neutral ground state of the cluster, which is regarded as the CH/pi interaction energy for this model system, was evaluated from the dissociation threshold measurements of the cluster cation. The experimentally determined binding energy (D(0)) was 1.03-1.13 kcal/mol. The interaction energy of the model system was calculated by ab initio molecular orbital methods. The estimated CCSD(T) interaction energy at the basis set limit (D(e)) was -1.43 kcal/mol. The calculated binding energy (D(0)) after the vibrational zero-point energy correction (1.13 kcal/mol) agrees well with the experimental value. The effects of basis set and electron correlation correction procedure on the calculated CH/pi interaction energy were evaluated. Accuracy of the calculated interaction energies by DFT methods using BLYP, B3LYP, PW91 and PBE functionals was also discussed.