Synthesis and Electronic Properties of Regioisomerically Pure Oxochlorins

We describe a two-step conversion of C-alkylated zinc chlorins to zinc oxochlorins wherein the keto group is located in the reduced ring (17-position) of the macrocycle. The transformation proceeds by hydroxylation upon exposure to alumina followed by dehydrogenation with DDQ. The reactions are compatible with ethyne, iodo, ester, trimethylsilyl, and pentafluorophenyl groups. A route to a spirohexyl-substituted chlorin/oxochlorin has also been developed. Representative chlorins and oxochlorins were characterized by static and time-resolved absorption spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy, resonance Raman spectroscopy, and electrochemistry. The fluorescence quantum yields of the zinc oxochlorins (Φf = 0.030−0.047) or free base (Fb) oxochlorins (Φf = 0.13−0.16) are comparable to those of zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) or free base tetraphenylporphyrin (FbTPP), respectively. The excited-state lifetimes of the zinc oxochlorins (τ = 0.5−0.7 ns) are on average 4-fold lower than that of ZnTPP, and the li...