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Porpholactones are porphyrinoids in which one or more β,β'-bonds of the parent chromophore were replaced by lactone moieties. Accessible to varying degrees by direct and nonselective oxidations of porphyrins, the rational syntheses of all five dilactone isomers along stepwise, controlled, and high-yielding routes via porphyrin → tetrahydroxyisobacteriochlorin metal complexes → isobacteriochlorindilactone metal complexes or porphyrin → tetrahydroxybacteriochlorin → bacteriochlorindilactone (and related) pathways, respectively, are described. A major benefit of these complementary routes over established methods is the simplicity of the isolation of the dilactones because of the reduced number of side products formed. In an alternative approach we report the direct and selective conversion of free base meso-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin to all isomers of free base isobacteriodilactones using the oxidant cetyltrimethylN + MnO 4 - . The solid-state structures of some of the isomers and their precursors are reported, providing data on the conformational modulation induced by the derivatizations. We also rationalize computationally their differing thermodynamic stability and electronic properties. In making new efficient routes toward these dilactone isomers available, we enable the further study of this diverse class of porphyrinoids.

The novel free base meso-di(5'-methylthien-2'-yl)thiaindaphyrin, 10, was prepared from the corresponding meso-tetra(thien-2-yl)porphyrin using a methodology analogous to that for the preparation of known meso-diphenylindaphyrin, 5: beta,beta'-Dihydroxylation of the porphyrin is followed by oxidative diol cleavage. The resulting aldehyde moieties undergo an acid-catalyzed intramolecular Friedel-Crafts alkylation of the adjacent meso-thienyl groups with concomitant oxidation. Insertion of Pt(II) into either of the chromophores is facile, producing 5Pt and 10Pt. The crystal structure of 5Pt, the first for any indaphyrin, shows that the conformation of the indaphyrinato ligand is strongly ruffled, while the N(4) donor set that coordinates the central Pt(II) maintains a near-perfect square-planar coordination geometry around the central metal ion (crystal data for C(44)H(24)N(4)O(2)Pt: triclinic space group P1 with a = 8.8735(4) A, b = 12.9285(6) A, c = 14.3297(6) A, alpha = 88.785(1) degrees, beta = 82.248(1) degrees, gamma = 72.422(1) degrees; Z = 2). The UV-vis and emission spectra, triplet yields, and lifetimes of the Pt(II) complexes 5Pt and 10Pt were determined. Both complexes luminesce (in EtOH at 77 K) in the NIR (5Pt: lambda(max-emission) = 864, 974 nm, lifetime 2 micros; 10Pt: lambda(max-emission) = 990, 1112, 1276 nm) with modest to low quantum yields (Phi(p) approximately 1% and approximately 6 x 10(-3) %, respectively).