Bis-Anthracene Fused Porphyrins: Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Near-IR Absorption

Synthesis of fused bis-anthracene porphyrin monomers and dimers has been achieved by oxidative ring closure using FeCl(3) and Sc(OTf)(3)/DDQ, respectively. The fused compounds display red-shifted absorption spectra with maxima in the near-IR at 973 and 1495 nm, respectively, and small electrochemical HOMO-LUMO gaps. The crystal structure of the fully fused bis-anthracene porphyrin shows that it has a regular planar pi-system.