Tuning Electron-Transfer Properties in 5,10,15,20-Tetra(1′-hexanoylferrocenyl)porphyrins as Prospective Systems for Quantum Cellular Automata and Platforms for Four-Bit Information Storage

Metal-free (1) and zinc (2) 5,10,15,20-tetra(1′-hexanoylferrocenyl)porphyrins were prepared using an acid-catalyzed tetramerization reaction between pyrrole and 1′-(1-hexanoyl)ferrocencarboxaldehyde. New organometallic compounds were characterized by combination of 1H, 13C, and variable-temperature NMR, UV–vis, magnetic circular dichroism, and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry methods. The redox properties of 1 and 2 were probed by electrochemical (cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry), spectroelectrochemical, and chemical oxidation approaches coupled with UV–vis–near-IR and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Electrochemical data recorded in the dichloromethane/TBA[B(C6F5)4] system (TBA[B(C6F5)4] is a weakly coordinating tetrabutylammonium tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate electrolyte) are suggestive of “1e– + 1e– + 2e–” oxidation sequence for four ferrocene groups in 1 and 2, which followed by oxidation process centered at the porphyrin core. The separation between all ferro...