The reaction of meso-triarylcorroles with AgNO2 proceeds with concomitant metalation and peripheral substitution to give the corresponding nitro-substituted silverIII corrole complex. The substitution is highly regioselective, giving only the corresponding 3-nitro derivative, among the different possible isomers. The results obtained indicate that the reaction intermediate is the pi-cation radical of the complex, which is then attacked by nitrite ion. This was proven by the reaction of the copper corrole complexes with NaNO2: in this case, the nitration reaction proceeded without the addition of an oxidant, because of the pi-cation radical character of the copper complex. The reaction is also successful in the case of 2,3,17,18-tetraethyl-8,12-diacetoxymethyl-7,13-dimethylcorrole (AMCorH3), with the formation of the meso-substituted silver corrole derivative (NO2)3AMCorAg (fully characterized by X-ray crystallography), the first of its kind to be reported. Two of the corroles are characterized by cyclic voltammetry and spectroelectrochemistry in dichloromethane, and the site of electron transfer is elucidated.

5,10,15-Triphenylcorrole (1) reacts with the Vilsmeier reagent (POCl(3)/DMF) to give the corresponding 3-formyl derivative 3 as the major product. The regioselectivity of the reaction was proven by X-ray crystallography and only traces of the 2-formyl isomer were observed. A more polar product is also observed and this compound becomes the major product when an excess of DMF is used for the preparation of the Vilsmeier reagent, while the formation of the 3-formyl isomer is almost completely suppressed. X-ray crystallography allowed us to identify this compound as the fully substituted N-ethane bridged derivative 4, formed from the attack of the Vilsmeier reagent at the inner core of the macrocycle. This compound is unique among porphyrinoid macrocycles, and further confirms the peculiarity of corrole chemistry.

Several procedures for the demetalation of silver(III) corrolates have been tested. Acidic conditions induce removal of the silver ion but they can also promote concomitant oxidation of the corrole nucleus to an isocorrole species, the degree of which will depend upon the specific acidic media. This oxidation cannot be completely avoided by addition of hydrazine, particularly in the case of 3-NO2 substituted complexes which are quantitatively converted into the corresponding 3-NO2, 5-hydroxy isocorroles upon silver ion removal. Several β-nitro isocorrole products were isolated, and one was structurally characterized. Electrochemical and chemical reductive methods for silver(III) corrolates demetalation were then tested with the aim to avoid the formation of isocorroles. While reaction with sodium borohydride was shown to be quite effective to demetalate unsubstituted silver corrolates this was not the case for the β-nitro derivatives where the peripheral nitro group is reduced by borohydride giving the corresponding 3-amino free base corrole species. For the β-nitro corrole silver complexes, a successful approach was obtained using DBU/THF solutions which afforded the 3-NO2 corrole free-base compound as a single reaction product in good yield. These conditions were also effective for unsubstituted corroles although longer reaction times were necessary in this case. To study in greater detail the corrole demetalation behavior, selected Ag(III) derivatives were characterized by cyclic voltammetry in pyridine, and the demetalation products spectrally characterized after controlled potential reduction in a thin-layer spectroelectrochemical cell.

Copper and germanium complexes of β-substituted nitrocorroles were reacted with 4-amino-4H-1,2,4-triazole to give the corresponding β-amino-β-nitro derivatives, in moderate to good yields. This is the first successful example of a vicarious nucleophilic substitution performed on corrole derivatives, because the same reaction carried out on silver complexes afforded the corresponding 6-azahemiporphycenes by way of corrole ring expansion. The first step of this work is related to the modification of a synthetic protocol for preparation of the β-substituted nitro corroles. The nitration reaction was carried out on a copper corrole using NaNO2 as the primary source of NO2− coupled with AgNO2 used as oxidant. By variation of the molar ratio of the reagents it was possible to direct the product distribution towards mono- and di-nitro derivatives. The reaction between mono- and di-nitro derivatives of (TtBuCorrCu) with 4-amino-4H-1,2,4-triazole gave good results, leading to the isolation of 2,3-(NH2)(NO2)-TtBuCorrCu and 2,18-(NH2)2-3,17-(NO2)2-TtBuCorrCu in moderate yields. To elucidate factors that influence the reaction, and to highlight the different behavior observed for different metal complex substrates, the electrochemistry of three copper complexes, TtBuPCorrCu, (NO2)TtBuPCorrCu and (NO2)2TtBuPCorrCu, were studied by cyclic voltammetry and thin-layer UV-visible spectroelectrochemistry. The nitro groups on (NO2)xTtBuPCorrCu are highly electron-withdrawing, which leads not only to a substantial positive shift of all redox potentials, but also to a unique redox behavior and UV-vis spectrum of the singly reduced product as compared to the parent compound, TtBuPCorrCu. Finally, the amination reaction was carried out on a Ge(IV) nitrocorrolate, giving in good yield the 2-amino-3-nitroderivative, which was structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray crystallography.

The reaction of a corrole with 4-amino-4H-1,2,4-triazole affords an unprecedented 6-azahemiporphycene structure through macrocycle ring expansion; this is a further example of interconversion between different classes of tetrapyrroles.

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The reaction between germanium(IV) meso-triphenylcorrolates and nitrate salts affords the corresponding beta-nitro substituted corroles in good yield. Chromatographic separation of the crude reaction mixtures enables isolation of a mu-oxo dimer along with the corresponding monomers bearing a hydroxy or methoxy group at an axial position of the germanium central metal ion. Depending on the reaction conditions, mono- or dinitro substituted complexes can be obtained. The substitution is highly regioselective in each case, giving only the 3-nitro or 3,17-dinitro derivative among the different possible isomers. Five of the synthesized complexes were examined by cyclic voltammetry and UV-visible spectroelectrochemistry in dichloromethane, and the dinitro mu-oxo dimer is structurally characterized.

Cyclization of a,c-biladienes in alcoholic solution gives corroles. When the same reaction is carried out in CHCl3 a completely different outcome is observed, and the product of the reaction is the corresponding open-chain biliverdin. The critical step for the cyclization to corrole is the formation of the fully conjugated 22,24-dihydro-a,b,c-bilatriene cation, which is allowed in methanol and appears to be prevented in CHCl3. The presence of substituents at the 10-position of the a,c-biladiene is also critical for the reaction; while a phenyl group strongly enhances the formation of corrole, in the case of alkyl groups the formation of both corrole and biliverdin is prevented. This result can reasonably be attributed to the failure to give a fully conjugated 22,24-dihydro-a,b,c-bilatriene structure for 10-alkyl substituted a,c-biladienes. Carrying out the a,c-biladiene cyclization in acidic methanol permits a new one-pot preparation of beta-alkylcorroles. Copyright (C) 2003 Society of Porphyrins & Phthalocyanines