A planar dodecasubstituted porphyrin

The nickel and copper complexes of dodecasubstituted porphyrins bearing aryl groups at the meso positions and propano rings at the pyrrole beta positions were investigated. It was shown that the nickel complex NiTC5T(3,4,5-OMeP)P exhibits a nonplanar conformation, while the corresponding copper complex CuTC5T(3,4,5-OMeP)P is planar. The usefulness of spectroscopic probes of porphyrin nonplanarity is also investigated. The identification of the planar dodecasubstituted porphyrin indicates the flexibility of the tetrapyrrole macrocycle.