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1. Structure, Properties, and Reactivity of Porphyrins on Surfaces and Nanostructures with Periodic DFT Calculations

   https://doi.org/10.3390/app10030740  

   Chilukuri, Bhaskar ; Mazur, Ursula ; Hipps, K. W. ( February 2020 , Applied Sciences)

   Porphyrins are fascinating molecules with applications spanning various scientific fields. In this review we present the use of periodic density functional theory (PDFT) calculations to study the structure, electronic properties, and reactivity of porphyrins on ordered two dimensional surfaces and in the formation of nanostructures. The focus of the review is to describe the application of PDFT calculations for bridging the gaps in experimental studies on porphyrin nanostructures and self-assembly on 2D surfaces. A survey of different DFT functionals used to study the porphyrin-based system as well as their advantages and disadvantages in studying these systems is presented.
2. Synthesis of 2-bromo- and 2-phenyl-neo-confused porphyrins

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ob01642j  

   Almejbel, Arwa S. ; Lash, Timothy D. ( September 2020 , Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry)

   Neo-confused porphyrins (neo-CPs), porphyrin isomers with a 1,3-connected pyrrolic subunit, are aromatic structures with a CNNN coordination core. Previously, examples of neo-CPs with fused benzo units or electron-withdrawing ester substituents have been described. In this paper, two new examples of neo-CPs are reported that lack a fused aromatic unit or an ester moiety, but instead have a bromo or phenyl substituent on the neo-confused ring. Acid-catalyzed condensation of suitably substituted 1,2′-dipyrrylmethane dialdehydes with a 2,2′-dipyrrylmethane, followed by oxidation with aqueous ferric chloride solutions, afforded the neo-CPs in 40–45% yield. These porphyrin analogues had slightly reduced diatropic ring currents and slowly decomposed in solution. The related palladium( ii ) and nickel( ii ) complexes proved to be very unstable, even though the diatropicity of the macrocycle was enhanced. This study shows that stabilizing substituents are necessary for investigations into this class of porphyrinoids. Attempts to prepare imidazole versions of neo-CPs were unsuccessful.
3. Crystal structure of 2,3-dimethoxy- meso -tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)morpholinochlorin methylene chloride 0.44-solvate

   https://doi.org/10.1107/S2056989020009093  

   Churchill, Serena B. ; Sharma, Meenakshi ; Brückner, Christian ; Zeller, Matthias ( August 2020 , Acta Crystallographica Section E Crystallographic Communications)

   The title morpholinochlorin, C 46 H 16 F 20 N 4 O 3 , was crystallized from hexane/methylene chloride as its 0.44 methylene chloride solvate, C 46 H 16 F 20 N 4 O 3 ·0.44CH 2 Cl 2 . The morpholinochlorin was synthesized by stepwise oxygen insertion into a porphyrin using a `breaking and mending strategy': NaIO 4 -induced diol cleavage of the corresponding 2,3-dihydroxychlorin with in situ methanol-induced, acid-catalyzed intramolecular ring closure of the intermediate secochlorins bisaldehyde. Formally, one of the pyrrolic building blocks was thus replaced by a 2,3-dimethoxymorpholine moiety. Like other morpholinochlorins, the macrocycle of the title compound adopts a ruffled conformation, and the modulation of the porphyrinic π-system chromophore induces a red-shift of its optical spectrum compared to its corresponding chlorin analog. Packing in the crystal is governed by interactions involving the fluorine atoms of the pentafluorophenyl substituents, dominated by C—H...F interactions, and augmented by short fluorine...fluorine contacts, C—F...π interactions, and one severely slipped π-stacking interaction between two pentafluorophenyl rings. The solvate methylene chloride molecule is disordered over two independent positions around an inversion center with occupancies of two × 0.241 (5) and two × 0.199 (4), for a total site occupancy of 88%.
4. Aromaticity versus regioisomeric effect of β-substituents in porphyrinoids

   https://doi.org/10.1039/C9CP01177C  

   Yao, Yuhang ; Rao, Yu ; Liu, Yiwei ; Jiang, Liang ; Xiong, Jin ; Fan, Ying-Jie ; Shen, Zhen ; Sessler, Jonathan L. ; Zhang, Jun-Long ( May 2019 , Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   The photophysical properties of naturally occurring chlorophylls depend on the regioisomeric nature of the β-pyrrolic substituents. Such systems are the “gold standard” by which such effects are judged. However, simple extrapolations from what has been learned with chlorophylls may not be appropriate for other partially reduced porphyrinoids. Here we report the synthesis of a series of cis / trans -porphodilactones ( cis / trans -1) and related derivatives ( cis / trans 2–5) designed to probe the effect of regioisomeric substitution in porphyrinoids that incorporate degrees of unsaturation through the β-pyrrolic periphery that exceed those of chlorophyll. These test systems were obtained through β-pyrrolic modifications of the tetrapyrrolic core, which included reduction of β-diazalone to the corresponding dilactol moieties and 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions. In the case of cis - vs. trans -3 bearing two pyrrolidine-fused β-rings we found an unprecedented Δ Q L up to ca. 71 nm (2086 cm −1 ), where Δ Q L ( Q L means the lowest energy transfer band, also the S 0 → S 1 transition band, which is often assigned as Q y (0,0) band) refers to the transition energy difference between the corresponding cis / trans -isomers. The Δ Q L valuesmore »for these and other systems reported here were found to depend on the differences in the HOMO–LUMO energy gap and to be tied to the degeneracy and energy level splitting of the FMOs, as inferred from a combination of MCD spectral studies and DFT calculations. The aromaticity, estimated from the chemical shifts of the N–H protons and supported by theoretical calculations ( e.g. , AICD plots and NICS(1) values), was found to correlate with the extent of porphyrin periphery saturation resulting from the specific β-modifications. The aromaticity proved inversely proportional to the degree to which the regioisomerism affected the photophysical properties as noted from plots of Δ Q L s in cm −1 vs. the average NICS(1) values for 1–5. Such a finding is not something that can be easily interpolated from prior work and thus reveals how aromaticity may be used to fine-tune photophysical effects in reduced porphyrinoids.« less
5. Design and synthesis of two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks with four-arm cores: prediction of remarkable ambipolar charge-transport properties

   https://doi.org/10.1039/C9MH00035F  

   Thomas, Simil ; Li, Hong ; Dasari, Raghunath R. ; Evans, Austin M. ; Castano, Ioannina ; Allen, Taylor G. ; Reid, Obadiah G. ; Rumbles, Garry ; Dichtel, William R. ; Gianneschi, Nathan C. ; et al ( January 2019 , Materials Horizons)

   We have considered three two-dimensional (2D) π-conjugated polymer network ( i.e. , covalent organic frameworks, COFs) materials based on pyrene, porphyrin, and zinc-porphyrin cores connected via diacetylenic linkers. Their electronic structures, investigated at the density functional theory global-hybrid level, are indicative of valence and conduction bands that have large widths, ranging between 1 and 2 eV. Using a molecular approach to derive the electronic couplings between adjacent core units and the electron-vibration couplings, the three π-conjugated 2D COFs are predicted to have ambipolar charge-transport characteristics with electron and hole mobilities in the range of 65–95 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . Such predicted values rank these 2D COFs among the highest-mobility organic semiconductors. In addition, we have synthesized the zinc-porphyrin based 2D COF and carried out structural characterization via powder X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and surface area analysis, which demonstrates the feasibility of these electroactive networks. Steady-state and flash-photolysis time-resolved microwave conductivity measurements on the zinc-porphyrin COF point to appreciable, broadband photoconductivity while transmission spectral measurements are indicative of extended π-conjugation.