Azadipyrromethene dye derivatives in coordination chemistry: the structure-property relationship in homoleptic metal(II) complexes.

As a chromophore closely related to dipyrromethene (DPM), the azadipyrromethene (ADPM) family has attracted much interest in the life sciences and optoelectronic fields. A high-yielding microwave-assisted synthesis is reported for new homoleptic complexes of cobalt(II), nickel(II), copper(II) and zinc(II) based on the tetrakis(p-methoxyphenyl)azadipyrromethene ligand 1b. These complexes are compared with other homoleptic complexes of the same metal(II) series based on the tetraphenylazadipyrromethene 1a and also with related BF2+ chelates (Aza-BODIPYs 6a and 6b) for a better understanding of trends arising from substitution of the chelate and/or the electron-donating effect of the p-methoxy substituents. The electrochemical behavior of the new compounds 2b, 3b, and 5b in dichloromethane revealed two pseudoreversible reductions (2b, −1.09 and −1.25 V vs SCE; 3b, −1.05 and −1.29 V; 5b, −1.13 and −1.25 V) followed by a third irreversible process (2b, −1.78 V; 3b, −1.80 V; 5b, −1.77 V) along with two pseudore...