A Functionalized Noncovalent Macrocyclic Multiporphyrin Assembly from a Dizinc(II) Bis-Porphyrin Receptor and a Free-Base Dipyridylporphyrin

The bis-porphyrin system ZnP 2 , in which two zinc porphyrins are connected by a phenanthroline linker in an oblique fashion, acts as a bifunctional receptor towards the complexation of free-base meso-5,10-bis(4'-pyridyl)-15,20-diphenylporphyrin (4'-cisDPyP). In solution, NMR spectroscopy evidenced quantitative formation of the tris-porphyrin macrocyclic assembly ZnP 2 (4'-cisDPyP), in which the two fragments are held together by two axial 4'-N(pyridyl)-Zn interactions. The remarkable stability of the edifice (an association constant of about 6 x 10 8 M - 1 was determined by UV/Vis absorption and emission titration experiments in toluene) is due to the almost perfect geometrical match betwe…