Preparation of Metal-Free Corrin Derivatives via A ! B Ring Closure. Complexationo fthe Corrin Chromophore withMetal Ions, and Some Properties of the Ligandsi nC orrin ComplexesIn 1965, J. I. Toohey [11],w orking in the laboratoryo fH. A. Baker at Berkeley,i solated Co-free natural corrinoids from photosynthesizingb acteria. This discovery,t ogether with the challenge to prepare and to study corrin complexes containing also metal ions other than those of transition metals, led to the quest for as ynthesis of metal-freec orrin ligands.H erein, we describe how this goal was achieved in 1968 in the heptamethyl series through adaptation of the sulfide contractionmethodology (cf.P art VI of this series)t ot he problemo fa chieving an A/B-secocorrin ! corrin cyclization within a non-robust Zn II complex. Most prominent among our studies of the properties of the metal-free corrin ligands are the complexations with various metal ions.W ealso describe experiments on the introduction of Me groups into the meso-positions of dicyano-Co 2,2,7,7,12,, i.e., experiments carried out as model study for corresponding methylations tepsi nt he finals tage of the Harvard/ETH vitamin B 12 project.Chapter A: A ! B Ring Closure by Sulfide Contraction via Oxidative Coupling:S ynthesiso frac-Chloro-zink(II)-15-cyano-1,2,2,7, 7, 12,12-heptamethylcorrinate [3][5] [6]. Thec hapter describes the adaptation of the sulfide contraction C,C-condensation method (cf.P art VI of this series)t ot he A/B-secocorrin ! corrin-cyclizationstep in the synthesiso faZ n II -corrin complex. Corrin complexes of non-transition metals such as Zn are non-robust in the sense that the metal ion can be removed without destruction of the corrin ligand. Thes earch for optimal reaction conditions of the C,C-bondforming sulfide-contraction step required extensivee xperimentation and led to observations that turned out to be essential for the application of the A ! B macroring-closure method in the synthesis of vitamin B 12 . Chapter B: Preparationand Properties of Salts of rac-15-Cyano-1,2,2,7,7,12,12-heptamethylcorrinium Cations [3][5][6]. Azidolytic decomplexation of aZ n II -heptamethyl-corrin complex led to the first Helv eticaChimica Acta -V ol. 98 (2015)1845 2015 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG,Z ürich 1 ) Teile I und IV vgl. [1] und [2]. Der Teil V umfasst Ergebnisse aus den Promotionsarbeiten von A. Fischli [3] (1964 -1967), vgl. Fussnote 1i n[ 2], E.-L. Winnacker [4] (1964 -1968) und H.-U.B laser [5] (1967 -1970), sowie aus Postdoktoratsarbeiten von D. Bormann (1966, J. Schossig ( ) und N. Hashimoto (1970). Ein Te il der hier beschriebenenE rgebnisse war Gegenstand vorläufiger Mitteilungen[ 6-8] und Vorträge[ 9] [10].synthesis of ac orrin as metal-free N-protonated corrinium salt. Metal ions were introducedi nto the corrinium ligand to form aw ide variety of robust and non-robust corrin complexes.I mportantly,t he neutral form of the synthetic corrin ligand prefers to exist in as ensitive tautomeric form, featuring a second NH group and an olefinic bond in an e...