C,C- and N,C-coupled dimers of 2-aminotetraphenylporphyrins: regiocontrolled synthesis, spectroscopic properties, and quantum-chemical calculations.

β,β′-Bisporphyrins are intrinsically chiral porphyrin dimers with fascinating properties. The configurational stability at their axes can be directed by variation of the central metal atoms. Herein, we present a regioselective functionalization of the monomeric 2-amino-tetraphenyl-porphyrin as a versatile substrate for dimerization by oxidative coupling. By simple variation of the reaction conditions (solvent and oxidant), the oxidation selectively gave either the axially chiral C,C-coupled diaminobisporphyrin in high yields or, under Ullmann conditions, the twofold N,C-linked achiral dimer, also in good yields. A generalized mechanism for the coupling reaction is proposed based on DFT calculations. The axially chiral β,β′-coupled porphyrin dimers were isolated as racemic mixtures, but can be resolved by HPLC on a chiral phase. TDDFT and coupled-cluster calculations were used to explain the spectroscopic properties of the aminoporphyrins and their dimers and to elucidate the absolute configurations of the C,C-coupled bisporphyrins.