Two molybdenum and three antimony corroles were isolated and characterized by NMR, EPR, and electrochemistry. The very negative reduction potentials of the (oxo)molybdenum(V) corroles are clearly related to their inactivity as oxygen transfer reagents and the unsuccessful attempts to isolate lower-valent molybdenum corroles. X-ray crystallography of the (oxo)molybdenum(V) corrole 1a and the trans-difluoroantimony(V) corrole 2c, the first of their kind, revealed that their molecular structures represent extreme cases of such complexes: a highly domed corrole with very large out-of-plane metal displacement for 1a (0.73 Angstroms) and a very flat corrole with the metal ion in its center for 2c. All three antimony corroles displayed high activity and selectivity as catalysts for the photoinduced oxidation of thioanisole by molecular oxygen, with superior results obtained in alcoholic solvents with 2c as catalyst. Allylic and tertiary benzylic CH bonds were also oxidized under those conditions, with absolute selectivity to the corresponding hydroperoxides.

The spectroscopic and electrochemical examination of the mononuclear copper complexes of 5,10,15-tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole and 5,10,15-tris(2,6-dichlorophenyl)corrole (1a and 2a, respectively) and of the corresponding dinuclear corrole dimers 1b and 2b reveal the existence of two almost degenerate electronic states. The lower state consists of copper(III) ions coordinated by closed-shell corrolato trianions and the higher state is composed of copper(II) ions chelated by open-shell corrolato dianions. The contributions from both states are evident in the molecular structure of monomeric

The aim of this research was to prepare mononuclear ruthenium corroles, because of the well-documented potency of analogous porphyrin complexes in catalysis. The syntheses of the mononuclear nitrosyl complexes [Ru(tpfc)(NO)] and [Ru(tdcc)(NO)] (tpfc=trianion of 5,10,15-tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole, tdcc=trianion of 5,10,15-tris(2,6-dichlorophenyl)corrole), and of the binuclear [[Ru(tpfc)](2)] were achieved by using [[Ru(cod)Cl(2)](x)] (cod=cyclooctadiene) as the metal source. The NMR spectra of all three complexes clearly demonstrate that they are diamagnetic; this is consistent with a triple bond between the metal ions in [[Ru(tpfc)](2)] and is expected for classical [MNO](6) complexes. These features were further substantiated by the stretching frequencies of the [MNO] moieties, electrochemical measurements on all complexes, and the X-ray crystal structures of [Ru(tpfc)(NO)] and [[Ru(tpfc)](2)]. A comparison of the spectroscopic and structural characteristics of these new complexes with analogous iron corroles, as well as with iron and ruthenium porphyrins, suggests that it will be hard to obtain mononuclear ruthenium corroles without pi-accepting ligands.

Three photosensitizers based on tris-(pentafluorophenyl)antimony corroles that differ in oxidation state and axial ligands, namely, (pyridine)Sb(III)-, (oxo)Sb(V)-and (difluoro)Sb(V) complexes, were studied by time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and laser flash photolysis. The magnetic and orientational parameters of the corroles oriented in a nematic liquid crystal as well as their triplet lifetimes in liquid toluene were determined and interpreted in terms of their structure and geometry. The negative zero-field splitting parameter D assigned to all studied corroles is explained by the asymmetric π-electron withdrawal effect caused by perfluorinated peripheral aryl groups, which force the triplet electron spins to align in head-to-tail configuration. The effect of the axial ligands on the photoexcited triplet state properties of the corroles is correlated with their different efficiency to perform photoassisted aerobic oxygenation of some organic molecules. This is explained by the dependence of the main parameters of the photoexcited complexes on the interaction between the central ion and corrole π-system. This interaction is strongly influenced by axial ligands coordination, affecting the macrocycle symmetry, planarity, and rigidity.