Azoporphyrin: The Porphyrin Analogue of Azobenzene

Through Bridge Spin Coupling in Homo- and Heterobimetallic Porphyrin Dimers upon Stepwise Oxidations: A Spectroscopic and Theoretical Investigation

We have described copper(II)-iron(III) and copper(II)-manganese(III) heterobimetallic porphyrin dimers and compared them with the corresponding homobimetallic analogs. UV-visible spectra are very distinct in the heterometallic species while electrochemical studies demonstrate that these species, as compared to the homobimetallic analog, are much easier to oxidize. Combined Mössbauer, EPR, NMR, magnetic and UV-visible spectroscopic studies show that upon 2e-oxidation of the heterobimetallic complexes only ring-centered oxidation occurs. The energy differences between HOMO and LUMO are linearly dependent with the low-energy NIR band obtained for the 2e-oxidized complexes. Also, strong electronic communication between two porphyrin rings through the bridge facilitates coupling between various unpaired spins present while the coupling model depends on the nature of metal ions used. While unpaired spins of Fe(III) and the porphyrin π-cation radical are strongly antiferromagnetically coupled, such coupling is rather weak between Mn(III) and a porphyrin π-cation radical. Moreover, the coupling between two π-cation radicals are much stronger in the 2e-oxidized complexes of dimanganese(III) and copper(II)-manganese(III) porphyrin dimers as compared to their diiron(III) and copper(II)-iron(III) analogs. Furthermore, coupling between the unpaired spins of a π-cation radical and copper(II) is much stronger in the 2e-oxidized complex of copper(II)-iron(III) porphyrin dimer as compared to its copper(II)-manganese(III) analog. The Mulliken spin density distributions in 2e-oxidized homo- and heterobimetallic complexes show symmetric and asymmetric spread between the two macrocycles, respectively. In both the 2e-oxidized heterobimetallic complexes, the Cu(II) porphyrin center acts as a charge donor while Fe(III)/Mn(III) porphyrin center act as a charge acceptor. The experimental observations are also strongly supported by DFT calculations.

Hierarchical Synthesis, Structure, and Photophysical Properties of Gallium- and Ruthenium-Porphyrins with Axially Bonded Azo Ligands

The hierarchical synthesis of three porphyrin and four bisporphyrin derivatives is presented. This strategy relies on the incorporation of linkers based on azo moieties appended with pyridyl and/or acetylenic groups that facilitate axial coordination to Ga- and Ru-metalloporphyrins. These porphyrinic systems allow for a quantitative analysis of the effects of diamagnetic anisotropy (DA) by using ¹ H NMR spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic analyses. A simple power-law relationship between the proton chemical shift and the distance from the porphyrin core is experimentally outlined, which confirms previous theoretical predictions and shows that the limit of DA is about 2 nm. Photophysical properties of the azo-linked porphyrins are analyzed by UV/Vis spectroscopy, showing that significant cis-trans isomerization is not observed for azo ligands bound only to Ga-porphyrins. Incorporation of Ru-porphyrins to an azo ligand facilitates photoswitching behavior, but the process faces competition from decarbonylation of the Ru-porphyrin, and appreciable switching is only documented for GaL1Ru.

A 1,5-Naphthyridine-Fused Porphyrin Dimer: Intense NIR Absorption and Facile Redox Interconversion with Its Reduced Congener

Pt^II -catalyzed cyclization of β-to-β ethynylene-bridged meso-amino Ni^II porphyrin dimer 4 followed by oxidation with PbO₂ afforded 1,5-naphthyridine-fused porphyrin dimer 5 in good yield. This dimer possesses a redox-active 1,4-diazabutadiene linkage that is interconvertible with its reduced 1,2-diaminoethene linkage upon treatments with NaBH₄ or PbO₂ . The dimer 5 exhibits an intense NIR absorption and a narrow HOMO-LUMO gap with a remarkably low reduction potential mainly due to effective bonding interactions in the LUMO through the 1,4-diazabutadiene linkage. In contrast, the reduced dimer 7 is fairly electron-rich with high HOMO energy and shows a relatively large HOMO-LUMO gap compared to that of 5.

Nitrogen-Bridged Metallodiazaporphyrin Dimers: Synergistic Effects of Nitrogen Bridges and meso-Nitrogen Atoms on Structure and Properties

NH-bridged and pyrazine-fused metallodiazaporphyrin dimers have been prepared from nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes of 3-amino-5,15-diazaporphyrin by Pd-catalyzed C-N cross-coupling and oxidative dimerization reactions, respectively. The synergistic effects of the nitrogen bridges and meso-nitrogen atoms play major roles in enhancing the light-harvesting properties and delocalization of an electron spin over the entire π-skeletons of the metallodiazaporphyrin dimers.

meso-N-Pyrrole as a Versatile Substituent Influencing the Optical Properties of Porphyrin

A meso-N-pyrrole porphyrin converts into a π-extended porphyrin forming an indolizine-3-one motif. The indolizine-3-one frame opens a lactam subunit preserving a six-membered, heterocyclic structure fused with the main macrocycle. The optical properties of formed derivatives follow the structural modifications giving the absorbance and emission eventually modulated by the NH-centered modifications of the fused unit.

meso-Nitro- and meso-Aminosubporphyrinatoboron(III)s and meso-to-meso Azosubporphyrinatoboron(III)s

meso-Nitrosubporphyrinatoboron(III) was synthesized by nitration of meso-free subporphyrin with AgNO₂ /I₂ . The subsequent reduction with a combination of NaBH₄ and Pd/C gave meso-aminosubporphyrinatoboron(III). meso-Nitro- and meso-amino-groups significantly influenced the electronic properties of subporphyrin, which has been confirmed by NMR and UV/Vis spectra, electrochemical analysis, and DFT calculations. Oxidation of meso-aminosubporphyrinatoboron(III)s with PbO₂ cleanly gave meso-to-meso azosubporphyrinatoboron(III)s that exhibited almost coplanar conformations and large electronic interaction through the azo-bridge.