3-Cyclobutenyl-1,2-dione-substituted porphyrins. 2. A simple and general entry to quinone-porphyrin-porphyrin-quinone tetrads and related molecules.

The synthesis of meso-linked quinone-porphyrin-porphyrin-quinone tetrads has been accomplished by the simple treatment of a CH2Cl2 solution of zincated 5-substituted-10,20-diphenylporphyrins (where the substituent = 3-cyclobutenyl-1,2-dione, various quinonyl derivatives, and p-anisyl) with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyanoquinone (DDQ). The zincated porphyrinic quinones were synthesized from 5-(3-cyclobutenyl-1,2-dione)-10,20-diphenylporphyrin(Zn). The meso-linked dimer of 5-(3-cyclobutenyl-1,2-dione)-10,20-diphenylporphyrin(Zn) was also shown to be a useful precursor to meso-linked quinone-porphyrin-porphyrin-quinone tetrads. This DDQ-based oxidative dimerization appears to be general and effective for various zincated 5-substituted-10,20-diphenylporphyrins bearing both electron-withdrawing and -donating substituents. The oxidative dimerization was very sensitive to the reaction solvent (dimerization occurred in CH2Cl2, not in THF) and required the zincated porphyrins (the corresponding free base porphyrins did not undergo dimerization). When this solvent effect was applied to the reaction of I2/AgO2CCF3 with zincated porphyrins, either the dimeric porphyrins or iodoporphyrins could be selectively prepared simply by selecting methylene chloride or THF as the reaction solvent, respectively.