Ring expansions and contractions of metalloporphyrins.

Ring expansions or contractions of metalloporphyrins are unusual reactions. In this review, the author will show how the step by step analysis of two serendipitous reactions allows one to unveil their mechanism and to point out the key role of nickel ion in these rearrangements.

Nonaromatic corroles: regioselectivity of electrophilic substitution.

Ring contraction of nickel meso-tetraarylporphyrins produced nonaromatic divalent corroles bearing a benzoyloxy function. We investigated their reactivity under electrophilic conditions: formylation, halogenation, nitration. We also found that the benzoate function could be eliminated to afford deoxocorroles, and we tested the formylation and nitration in this deoxo series. These corroles were generally very stable under the reaction conditions, and in both series, the directly bonded pyrroles were the most reactive. The nitration reaction produced a series of corrole dimers via electron transfer initiated coupling.

Synthesis, structural characterization, and electrochemical studies of nickel porphyrins bearing two peripheral conjugated chelating groups.

This article describes the synthesis of several new nickel porphyrins bearing peripheral chelating groups conjugated with the macrocyclic pi system. These monomeric nickel porphyrins display quite unusual chromophoric properties, some of them absorbing in the near-infrared region. Extension of the aromatic core of the porphyrin was realized by connecting meso-aryl groups with pyrroles by ketone functionalities. Further functionalizations led to bisenaminoketones or bisenaminothioketones, which are useful building blocks for the elaboration of oligomeric porphyrins linked by metal ions. All new compounds were studied by electrochemistry, some of them showing up to six electron transfers and/or splitting of the first oxidation wave.

Acylation of nickel meso-tetraarylporphyrins: porphyrin to corrole ring contraction and formation of seco-porphyrins.

Friedel-Crafts acylation of nickel meso-tetraarylporphyrins with aryl anhydrides, followed by air oxidation in the presence of pyridine, DMAP, and excess anhydride, produced corroles in 8-21% yields. Other products include a porphyrinic ketone, an additional corrole whose bridge has been retained as an acyl group attached to a pyrrole, and a lactone resulting from the insertion of an oxygen atom into an alpha,beta-pyrrole bond. The ring contraction is best explained by a pinacolic rearrangement reminiscent of the one taking place in the formation of corrinoids, a benzoyloxy group replacing the acetic side chain found in the natural products.

Locked pi-expanded chlorins in two steps from simple tetraarylporphyrins.

[reaction: see text] Upon tandem Reformatsky reaction, easily accessible porphyrinic ketones give "locked" chlorinic diester. Both ketones and diesters, as bases or palladium complexes, efficiently generate singlet dioxygen, as demonstrated by trapping with cholesterol.

Porphyrin ring contraction: a one-pot reaction leading to divalent corroles.

Reaction of nickel meso-tetraarylporphyrins with benzoic anhydride and tin tetrachloride, followed by air oxidation under basic conditions, results in ring contraction, yielding divalent corroles.

Synthesis of new porphyrins with peripheral conjugated chelates and their use for the preparation of porphyrin dimers linked by metal ions.

This article describes the preparation of several new porphyrins bearing chelating peripheral groups fully conjugated with the macrocyclic pi-system. Treatment of a 2-nitro-meso-tetraarylporphyrin with phosphite gave a cyclic enamine, whose formylation gave an enaminoaldehyde. The thio analogue was obtained on treatment with Lawesson's reagent. The same reagent was also used to obtain the isomeric thioenaminoketone chelates. A enaminoketone ligand was prepared from a porphyrinic pyrrolone. All these ligands, as internal nickel complexes, could be metalated with palladium to yield porphyrinic dimers. The dimers obtained from enaminoketones and thioketones show a trans geometry, while in the enaminoaldehyde and -thioaldehyde series the cis isomer is thermodynamically favored. The bathochromic shifts of the electronic spectra of the aldehyde-derived dimers illustrate the strong electronic effect of peripheral metalation and dimerization. However, in the case of the pyrrolone-derived ligand, opposite effects were observed, due to partial reconstitution of the porphyrin chromophore on complexation. As with the dimers derived from enaminoketones, the dimers derived from the new ligands show typical splitting (up to 190 mV) of the electrochemical waves confirming large porphyrin-porphyrin interactions.

Preparation of six isomeric bis-acylporphyrins with chromophores reaching the near-infrared via intramolecular Friedel-Crafts reaction.

We describe the preparation of six diketones based on the frameworks of five bis-naphthoporphyrins and one perinaphthoporphyrin. All diketones derive from meso-tetraarylporphyrins having incorporated two carbonyl groups, each one connected to one beta-pyrrole carbon and one ortho carbon atom from a meso-aryl group. These compounds were all produced in good yield by intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation, either from porphyrins meso-substituted by o-carboxyphenyl or o,o'-dicarboxyphenyl substituents or from porphyrins bearing carboxy groups attached to the pyrrolic beta-positions. Although the former reaction does not show significant regioselectivity when run on nickel complexes, the opposite is true for the corresponding free bases. All diketones show a spectacular bathochromic shift of the UV-vis absorption, the longest wavelength bands absorbing in the 700-825 nm range. Two compounds were structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction. In the case of the diketone, whose carbonyl groups are attached to vicinal pyrrolic beta-positions, a significant intermolecular interaction between the two carbonyl groups and an aromatic hydrogen atom was detected.

Colorful Friedel-Crafts chemistry of meso-tetraarylporphyrins. An unexpected route to porphyrinic spiro dimers.

Under Friedel-Crafts conditions, meso-tetraarylporphyrins give porphyrin spiro dimers in good yield. This reaction involves acylation, acid-catalyzed cyclization, and dimerization. A stable dimer possessing three additional six-membered rings could be isolated and its structure determined. By modifying the substrate and reagents, intermediates could be isolated and characterized. The reactivity of the substrates, the side-reactions, and the concentration requirements to form the dimers, all explain why this reaction remained apparently unexplored in the widely used meso-tetraarylporphyrin series. [reaction: see text]

Syntheses and optical and electrochemical properties of porphyrin dimers linked by metal ions.

The preparation, isolation, and characterization of several new peripherally functionalized monomeric porphyrins and metalloporphyrins and of porphyrin dimers are described. These dimers are obtained by linking with metal ions two monomeric porphyrins bearing at their periphery an enaminoketone chelate fully conjugated with the aromatic ring. Porphyrin dimers linked by metal ions display large interactions in the ground state as evidenced by their electronic spectra and their electrochemical behavior. Compared to the monomeric analogue, these dimers show absorption spectra with intensified red-shifted Q-bands and their first oxidation potentials are substantially lowered and split into two distinct redox steps.