Synthesis, structure and photocatalytic activity of a remarkably bent, cofacial ethene-linked diiron (III) μ-oxobisporphyrin

Synthesis and characterization of cis and trans 1,2-bis[Chloroiron(III) 5-(2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphyrinyl)]ethenes are described. Upon treatment with 5% NaOH, cis form of the molecule immediately converts to remarkably bent diiron (III)-μ-oxo bisporphyrin which transforms to cis bisChloroFe(III)porphyrin again by the addition of 5% HCl. This facile transformation is reversible with sharp change in color in which the bisporphyrin platform ‘open’ and ‘close’ its binding pockets with very high vertical flexibility in a single molecular framework. Single crystal X-ray structural characterization reveals cis diiron(III)-μ-oxo bisporphyrin in which Fe–O–Fe unit is remarkable bent with 150.9(2)° angle. Two porphyrin rings in the molecule are not slipped but face-to-face in a fully eclipsed geometry and are placed so close that some of the carbon atoms from each of the macrocycles are driven to be essentially less than the van der Waals contacts (<3.4 Å). Two rings in the oxo-bridged dimer also make the interplanar angle of 27.7° instead of expected angle of 60° due to the bridging alkenic bond. EPR, 1H NMR and Mössbauer spectral data are indicative of strong anti-ferromagnetic coupling between two high-spin iron(III) centers via bridging oxo group. The complex catalyzes the rapid photoinduced oxygenation of phosphites under mild condition using aerial O2. Electrochemical data reveals that the diiron(III)-μ-oxo bisporphyrin in dichloromethane undergoes four reversible/quasi-reversible one electron oxidation and one electron reductions. The presence of two porphyrin macrocycles within a short distance in the μ-oxo species makes the porphyrin core highly nonplanar and more electron rich that might responsible for easier oxidations compared to [Fe(OEP)]2O.