Synthesis of carbazole-containing porphyrinoids by a multiple annulation strategy: A core-modified and π-expanded porphyrin

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/anie.201101864

Going around in circles: The copper(I)-mediated annulation of a doubly 1,3-butadiyne-bridged carbazole dimer with amines or Na₂S provides isophlorins containing carbazole or thiophene-carbazole moieties, respectively (see scheme). Oxidization of the thiophene-containing isophlorin with MnO ₂ gives the corresponding porphyrin, which displays distinct aromaticity and remarkably intensified and red-shifted absorption bands in the near IR region. Copyright

Full text of DOI:10.1002/anie.201101864

DOI: 10.1002/anie.201101864
Porphyrins
Synthesis of Carbazole-Containing Porphyrinoids by a Multiple
Annulation Strategy: A Core-Modified and p-Expanded Porphyrin**
Chihiro Maeda,* Tomoki Yoneda, Naoki Aratani, Min-Chul Yoon, Jong Min Lim,
Dongho Kim,* Naoki Yoshioka,* and Atsuhiro Osuka*
Porphyrins are the most important pyrrolic macrocycles in
light of their biological importance and ability to serve as
efficient catalysts and functional pigments. Most porphyrins
and porphyrinoids have been synthesized by the acid-
catalyzed condensation of pyrroles and aldehydes, or their
equivalents.[1] The exception are those in which the pyrrole
rings are connected either directly or through vinylene
linkages, and these have been synthesized by the oxidative
coupling of pyrroles[2] and McMurry coupling reactions.[3]
New synthetic protocols for porphyrins are desirable, since
they may allow the more efficient preparation of porphyrins
or the exploration of structurally unique porphyrins that are
otherwise very difficult to prepare. Carbazole-based materials
have been extensively studied in view of their highly emissive
and electron-conducting properties, chemical stabilities, and
compatibilities with various transformations such as polymer-
izations and metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions.[4]
Despite these developments, porphyrins containing carbazole
moieties have rarely been explored.[5–7]
through their meso pyrrole positions by a copper(I)-mediated
annulation reaction of 1,3-butadiyne-brigded diporphyrins
with amines;[8] cyclic oligothiophenes were prepared by a
similar annulation reaction by Bꢀuerle and co-workers.[9]
Firstly, 1,8-diethynylcarbazole 1 was prepared through a
Stille coupling reaction of 1,8-dibromo-3,6-di-tert-butylcarba-
Herein we disclose a multiple annulation strategy that
allows the synthesis of novel porphyrinoids from 1,3-buta-
diyne-bridged cyclic carbazole oligomers. This approach was
encouraged by our recent synthesis of diporphyrins linked
[*] Dr. C. Maeda, Prof. Dr. N. Yoshioka
Department of Applied Chemistry
Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University
Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223-8522 (Japan)
Fax: (+81)45-566-1551
E-mail: cmaeda@applc.keio.ac.jp
yoshioka@applc.keio.ac.jp
T. Yoneda, Dr. N. Aratani, Prof. Dr. A. Osuka
Department of Chemistry
Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University
Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan)
Fax: (+81)75-753-3970
E-mail: osuka@kuchem.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Dr. M.-C. Yoon, J. M. Lim, Prof. Dr. D. Kim
Spectroscopy Laboratory for Functional p-Electronic Systems and
Department of Chemistry, Yonsei University
Seoul 120-749 (Korea)
Fax: (+82)2-2123-2434
E-mail: dongho@yonsei.ac.kr
[**] This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid (nos. 22245006 (A) and
20108001 “pi-Space”) from MEXT. The work at Yonsei University
was supported by the World Class University Program (R32-2010-
000-10217) and the Mid-career Researcher Program (2010-0029668)
from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MEST),
Korea, and a AFSOR/AOARD grant (FA2386-10-1-4080).
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW
under http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201101864.
Scheme 1. Synthesis of 1,3-butadiyne-bridged cyclic carbazole dimer 2,
trimer 3, and tetramer 4.
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5691

Communications
zole[10] with tributyl(trimethylsilylethynyl)tin and subsequent
deprotection with K2CO3. A subsequent Glaser coupling
reaction of 1 followed by gel-permeation chromatographic
separation provided dimer 2 (35%), trimer 3 (4.9%), and
tetramer 4 (7.6%; Scheme 1). The 1H NMR spectra and high-
resolution electrospray-ionization (HR-ESI) mass spectra of
2–4 are fully consistent with their symmetric structures (see
the Supporting Information). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction
analysis showed 2 and 3 to be almost planar, with mean
deviations from the plane of 0.065 and 0.210 ꢁ, respectively
(Figure 1).[11] Interestingly, the 1,3-butadiyne bridges are bent
Scheme 2. Synthesis of pyrrole-bridged carbazole dimers 5a–c and
trimer 6.
835.4732 (calcd for C60H59N4, [MÀH]À = 835.4745). Similar
annulation reactions with p-methoxybenzylamine and butyl-
amine provided the corresponding 2,5-pyrrolylene-bridged
carbazole dimers 5b and 5c, respectively, in moderate yields.
The structure of 5c was showned by X-ray diffraction analysis
to possess a tetrapyrrolic porphyrin-like framework, with a
dihedral angle between the pyrrole and carbazole planes of
about 528 and with the two butyl groups oriented in the same
direction (Figure 2).[11] These 2,5-pyrrolylene-bridged cyclic
carbazole dimers 5a–c can be regarded as [20]porphyrins
(isophlorins) and are expected to become aromatic after
deprotection of the pyrrolic nitrogen atoms and subsequent
oxidation. However, deprotection of the pyrrolic nitrogen
atoms was unsuccessful, despite extensive attempts using
various acids and oxidants.
Figure 1. X-ray crystal structures: a) Top view of 2, b) side view of 2,
c) top view of 3, and d) side view of 3. tert-Butyl groups, hydrogen
atoms except for NH protons, and solvent molecules are omitted for
clarity. The thermal ellipsoids are at the 50% probability level.
outward in 2 and inward in 3. Compared to the parent
carbazole, 1,8-diethynylcarbazole 1 shows red-shifted absorp-
tion bands, while those of the cyclic oligomers 2–4 are even
more red-shifted (Table 1). The fluorescence quantum yield
of 2 is high and comparable to that of 1, while those of 3 and 4
decrease as the molecular size increases.
Heating a solution of 2 in mesitylene, aniline (25 equiv),
and CuCl (2 equiv) at reflux for 24 h afforded N-phenyl-
pyrrolylene-bridged carbazole dimer 5a in 51% after chro-
matographic separation (Scheme 2). The HR-ESI mass
spectrum showed the parent ion signal of 5a at m/z =
A similar annulation reaction of 3 with aniline gave cyclic
carbazole trimer 6 in 26% yield. The X-ray crystal structure
of 6 showed it to have a zigzag triangular shape, in which the
pyrrole spacers are inclined by 50–808 toward the neighboring
Table 1: Selected photophysical properties in CH2Cl2.
lF [nm][a]
FF
[b]
Compound
lA [nm]
1
2
3
4
5a
5b
5c
6
310, 364
323, 419
330, 404
325, 387
300, 350
298, 368
297, 368
304, 363
292, 334
372, 388[c]
431
0.408[d]
0.426
0.142
0.061
0.775
0.573
0.704
0.610
0.367
413
423,[c] 466
424
417
414
401
338, 354
carbazole[e]
[a] The excitation wavelength is 300 nm. [b] The absolute fluorescence
quantum yield with excitation at 360 nm. [c] Shoulder. [d] The fluores-
cence quantum yield of 1 was determined with reference to that of 2
(0.426) in CH2Cl2. [e] The photophysical properties of carbazole was
reported by Bonesi and Erra-Balsells.[12]
Figure 2. X-ray crystal structures of a) 5c, and b) 6. tert-Butyl groups,
hydrogen atoms except for NH protons, and solvent molecules are
omitted for clarity. The thermal ellipsoids are at the 50% probability
level.
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Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 5691 –5694

carbazole planes (Figure 2),[11] hence prohibiting conjugation
1
of the overall macrocyclic. The H NMR spectrum of 6 is
rather broad at room temperature, but the signals become
sharper at 508C, with signals corresponding to the pyrrole
protons observed at d = 6.93 ppm and phenyl protons at d =
7.30, 7.08, and 7.03 ppm. This finding suggests there is
restricted rotation of the pyrrole bridges at room temper-
ature. The absorption spectra of 5a–c and 6 are similar, and
reflect the nonconjugated characters. Interestingly, the fluo-
rescence quantum yields of 5a–c and 6 are high (Table 1),
which may be ascribed to their conformational rigidities.
Thiophene-containing porphyrinoid 7 was then prepared
in 91% yield by heating 2 at reflux in the presence of
Na2S·9H2O in THF (Scheme 3).[13] The isophlorin structure of
7 was confirmed by X-ray structural analysis to be relatively
flat with a mean deviation from the plane of 0.217 ꢁ
(Figure 3). The absorption spectrum of 7 is similar to those
of 5a–5c, thus indicating its nonconjugated character. Grat-
ifyingly, the oxidation of 7 with MnO2 resulted in a vivid color
change from yellow to green and formation of core-modified
porphyrin 8 in 62% yield. Porphyrin 8 was reduced quanti-
tatively to 7 with NaBH4. Thiophene-bridged carbazole
trimer 9 was obtained in 80% yield by a similar annulation
reaction of 3, but a subsequent oxidation to an aromatic
porphyrinoid has so far been unsuccessful.[14]
Figure 3. X-ray crystal structure of 7: a) top view and b) side view. tert-
Butyl groups and hydrogen atoms except for NH protons are omitted
for clarity. The thermal ellipsoids are at the 50% probability level.
As shown in Scheme 3, the macrocyclic conjugation of the
core-modified porphyrin 8 can be drawn as a 18p, 26p, or 34p
system, all of which should be aromatic. In line with this,
porphyrin 8 exhibits drastically different properties from
those of 7. The 1H NMR spectrum shows considerable
downfield shifts of the signals corresponding to the peripheral
protons—Ha at d = 9.90 ppm, Hb and Hc at d = 9.44 and
8.87 ppm—which indicate a strong diatropic ring current. The
absorption spectrum of 8 displays intensified and extremely
red-shifted Q-like bands at 845, 934, and 1049 nm (Figure 4).
Figure 4. UV/Vis/NIR absorption spectra of 7 (dotted line) and 8
(solid line) in CH2Cl2.
Cyclic voltammetry on 8 revealed reduction waves at À0.55,
À0.88, and À1.41 V, and oxidation waves at 0.42, 0.98, and
1.11 V.
A small electrochemical HOMO–LUMO gap
(0.97 eV) is consistent with its optical HOMO–LUMO gap
(1.18 eV). Although 7 fluoresces at 448 nm with a quantum
yield of 0.27 and a single exponential lifetime of 0.98 ns,
porphyrin 8 is nonfluorescent and the lifetime of its S1 state is
very short (6.3 ps), as determined by femtosecond transient
absorption spectroscopy, probably because of the acceleration
of nonradiaditive relaxation resulting from the smaller
HOMO–LUMO gap. Nuclear independent chemical shift
(NICS) values at the center of the molecule were calculated to
be + 1.28 and À11.09 ppm for 7 and 8, respectively. Collec-
tively, these data indicate the distinct aromaticity of 8.
Scheme 3. Synthesis of thiophene-bridged carbazole dimers 7, 8, and
trimer 9.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 5691 –5694
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5693

Communications
Sessler, E. A. Brucker, S. J. Weghorn, M. Kisters, M. Schꢀfer, J.
Lex, E. Vogel, Angew. Chem. 1994, 106, 2402; Angew. Chem. Int.
Ed. Engl. 1994, 33, 2308.
In summary, a copper(I)-promoted annulation reaction of
1,3-butadiyne-bridged cyclic carbazole dimer 2 and trimer 3
with amines provided the porphyrinoids 5 and 6, respectively,
containing carbazole units. A similar annulation reaction of 2
with sodium sulfide produced isophlorin 7 with thiophene-
carbazole moieties. Oxidization of 7 with MnO2 furnished the
corresponding porphyrin 8, which displays a remarkably
intensified and red-shifted absorption spectrum that reaches
the near infrared region as a result of its distinct aromaticity
and expanded p network. This multiple annulation protocol is
efficient and useful, and complementary to the conventional
acid-catalyzed condensation-based synthesis of porphyrins.
Further studies on finding suitable protecting groups for
pyrrole rings for the synthesis of aromatic porphyrinoids
containing carbazole units are in progress.
[4] a) J. V. Grazulevicius, P. Strohriegl, J. Pielichowski, K. Pieli-
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Leclere, D. Ades, A. Siove, Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2005, 26,
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[5] During the preparation of this manuscript, the synthesis of
carbazole-pyridine-based porphyrinoids by a Suzuki–Miyaura
coupling was reported: L. Arnold, H. Norouzi-Arasi, M.
Wagner, V. Enkelmann, K. Mꢃllen, Chem. Commun. 2011, 47,
970.
[6] Porphyrins containing cabazole units were formed by Bergman
cyclization of b,b’-diethynylated porphyrins: a) H. Aihara, L.
Jaquinod, D. J. Nurco, K. M. Smith, Angew. Chem. 2001, 113,
3547; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2001, 40, 3439; b) M. Nath, J. C.
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478.
Received: March 16, 2011
Published online: May 12, 2011
[7] Calixpyrroles containing carbazole units: P. Piatek, V. M. Lynch,
J. L. Sessler, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 16073.
[8] C. Maeda, H. Shinokubo, A. Osuka, Org. Lett. 2010, 12, 1820.
[9] J. Krꢂmer, I. Rios-Carreras, G. Fuhrmann, C. Musch, M.
Wunderlin, T. Debaerdemaeker, E. Mena-Osteritz, P. Bꢀuerle,
Angew. Chem. 2000, 112, 3623; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2000, 39,
3481.
Keywords: annulation · aromaticity · carbazoles · porphyrinoids
.
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[11] For the crystallographic data, see the Supporting Information.
CCDC816648 (2), 816649 (3), 816647 (5c), 816650 (6), and
816651 (7) contain the supplementary crystallographic data for
this paper. These data can be obtained free of charge from The
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre via www.ccdc.cam.ac.
uk/data_request/cif.
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[14] The reason for the unsuccessful oxidation of 9 to the corre-
sponding aromatic macrocycle is currently unclear, but might be
ascribed to insufficient steric protection, since carbazole-thio-
phene hybrid macrocyles bearing peripheral substituents smaller
than tert-butyl groups were not oxidized to the corresponding
aromatic congeners.
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