Structure of Porphyrin TPPS4 and Its Interaction with Metal Ions as Elucidated by 1H NMR and UV-Visible Spectra

Porphyrins are a group of tetrapyrrole pigments. Physical and chemical properties of porphyrins are often related to their compositions and structures. We conducted 1H solution NMR and UV-visible spectral analysis to characterize the structural feature of a water-soluble, synthetic porphyrin i.e. tetrakis (p-sulfonatophenyl) porphyrin, TPPS4, and its interaction with different metal ions in aqueous solutions. The results indicate that tetrapyrrole and tetraphenyl rings in TPPS4 molecule form a co-planar electron conjugation system; transition-metal ions show stronger binding capacity than alkali and alkali-earth metal ions; the relative stabilities of TPPS4-metal ion complexes can be well assessed by NMR and UV-visible spectral data.