Tuning Electron-Transfer Properties in 5,10,15,20-Tetra(1'-hexanoylferrocenyl)porphyrins as Prospective Systems for Quantum Cellular Automata and Platforms for Four-Bit Information Storage.

Metal-free (1) and zinc (2) 5,10,15,20-tetra(1'-hexanoylferrocenyl)porphyrins were prepared using an acid-catalyzed tetramerization reaction between pyrrole and 1'-(1-hexanoyl)ferrocencarboxaldehyde. New organometallic compounds were characterized by combination of 1H, 13C, and variable-temperature NMR, UV-vis, magnetic circular dichroism, and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry methods. The redox properties of 1 and 2 were probed by electrochemical (cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry), spectroelectrochemical, and chemical oxidation approaches coupled with UV-vis-near-IR and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Electrochemical data recorded in the dichloromethane/TBA[B(C6F5)4] system (TBA[B(C6F5)4] is a weakly coordinating tetrabutylammonium tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate electrolyte) are suggestive of "1e- + 1e- + 2e-" oxidation sequence for four ferrocene groups in 1 and 2, which followed by oxidation process centered at the porphyrin core. The separation between all ferrocene-centered oxidation electrochemical waves is very large (510-660 mV). The nature of mixed-valence [1]n+ and [2]n+ (n = 1 or 2) complexes was probed by the spectroelectrochemical and chemical oxidation methods. Analysis of the intervalence charge-transfer band in [1]+ and [2]+ is suggestive of the Class II (in Robin-Day classification) behavior of all mixed-valence species, which correlate well with Mössbauer data. Density functional theory-polarized continuum model (DFT-PCM) and time-dependent (TD) DFT-PCM methods were applied to correlate redox and optical properties of organometallic complexes 1 and 2 with their electronic structures.

Observation of the Strong Electronic Coupling in Near-Infrared-Absorbing Tetraferrocene aza-Dipyrromethene and aza-BODIPY with Direct Ferrocene-α- and Ferrocene-ß-Pyrrole Bonds: Toward Molecular Machinery with Four-Bit Information Storage Capacity.

The 1,3,7,9-tetraferrocenylazadipyrromethene (3) and the corresponding 1,3,5,7-tetraferrocene aza-BODIPY (4) were prepared via three and four synthetic steps, respectively, starting from ferrocenecarbaldehyde using the chalcone-type synthetic methodology. The novel tetra-iron compounds have ferrocene groups directly attached to both the α- and the ß-pyrrolic positions, and the shortest Fe-Fe distance determined by X-ray crystallography for 3 was found to be ∼6.98 Å. These new compounds were characterized by UV-vis, nuclear magnetic resonance, and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry methods, while metal-metal couplings in these systems were probed by electro- and spectroelectrochemistry, chemical oxidations, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Electrochemical data are suggestive of the well-separated stepwise oxidations of all four ferrocene groups in 3 and 4, while spectroelectrochemical and chemical oxidation experiments allowed for characterization of the mixed-valence forms in the target compounds. Intervalence charge-transfer band analyses indicate that the mixed-valence [3]+ and [4]+ complexes belong to the weakly coupled class II systems in the Robin-Day classification. This interpretation was further supported by Mössbauer spectroscopy in which two individual doublets for Fe(II) and Fe(III) centers were observed in room-temperature experiments for the mixed-valence [3]n+ and [4]n+ species (n = 1-3). The electronic structure, redox properties, and UV-vis spectra of new systems were correlated with Density Functional Theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations (TDDFT), which are suggestive of a ferrocene-centered highest occupied molecular orbital and chromophore-centered lowest unoccupied molecular orbital in 3 and 4 as well as predominant spin localization at the ferrocene fragment attached to the α-pyrrolic positions in [3]+ and [4]+.

Preparation, X-ray Structures, Spectroscopic, and Redox Properties of Di- and Trinuclear Iron-Zirconium and Iron-Hafnium Porphyrinoclathrochelates.

The first hybrid di- and trinuclear iron(II)-zirconium(IV) and iron(II)-hafnium(IV) macrobicyclic complexes with one or two apical 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin fragments were obtained using transmetalation reaction between n-butylboron-triethylantimony-capped or bis(triethylantimony)-capped iron(II) clathrochelate precursors and dichlorozirconium(IV)- or dichlorohafnium(IV)-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrins under mild conditions. New di- and trinuclear porphyrinoclathrochelates of general formula FeNx3((Bn-Bu)(MTPP)) and FeNx3(MTPP)2 [M = Zr, Hf; TPP = 5,10,15,20-tetraporphyrinato(2-); Nx = nioximo(2-)] were characterized by one-dimensional (1H and 13C{1H}) and two-dimensional (COSY and HSQC) NMR, high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, UV-visible, and magnetic circular dichroism spectra, single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments, as well as elemental analyses. Redox properties of all complexes were probed using electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical approaches. Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical data suggestive of a very weak, if any, long-range electronic coupling between two porphyrin π-systems in FeNx3(MTPP)2 complexes. Density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory calculations were used to correlate spectroscopic signatures and redox properties of new compounds with their electronic structures.