Facile electrosynthesis of π-extended porphyrins.

The facile electrosynthesis of π-extended porphyrins is demonstrated for a series of Zn(II), In(III), Ir(III) and free-base meso-substituted derivatives containing the 4,7-dimethoxynaphthalen-1-yl substituent. Electrochemical data suggest that the overall process initially involves two stepwise one-electron oxidations, followed by an intramolecular oxidative aromatic coupling to give the electrooxidized π-extended porphyrin.