5-trimethoxyphenyl meso substituents were prepared by the condensation of 2,5-di [hydroxy-(aryl)methyl]tellurophenes 12 with 2,5-di[2-pyrrolo(aryl)methyl]tellurophenes 15 in the presence of BF 3 -etherate followed by oxidation with p-chloranil. Compounds 15 were prepared from tellurophenes 12 with pyrrole and BF 3 -etherate. Tellurophenes 12 were prepared in 44-72% isolated yield by the addition of 1,6-diarylhexa-2,4-diyn-1,6-diols 13 to the reduction product of Te powder and LiBHEt 3 . No additional Lewis acid was necessary in these reactions. Coupling of 1-aryl-2-propyn-1-ols ( 14) with CuCl, pyridine, and air in MeOH gave diyndiols 13. 26,28-Ditellurasapphyrin 10 was isolated in 0.6% yield from the reaction mixture that produced 9 in 12% isolated yield. The X-ray structure of 10 showed a nearly planar sapphyrin core with the Te atoms of both tellurophene rings pointing to the center of the core. 30,33-Ditellurarubyrin 11 was isolated in 32% yield by the reaction of two equivalents of trifluoroacetic acid with tellurophene dipyrrane 15c. 125 Te NMR spectra were recorded for the compounds of this study.Core-modified porphyrins replace one or two pyrrole N-H groups with O, S, Se, and/or Te atoms. The telluraand ditelluraporphyrins provide the broadest range of unusual structures and chemical reactivity. 23-Telluraporphyrin 1 (Chart 1) has a Te 3 3 3 N distance of 3.13 A ˚, which is less than the sum of van der Waals radii. 1 21-Thia-23-telluraporphyrin 2 has a Te 3 3 3 S distance of 2.65 A ˚,2 which is even more compressed. In 21,23-ditelluraporphyrin 3, the dominant structure both in solution and in the crystalline state is one in which the two Te atoms cannot both occupy the core and one tellurophene is "flipped" with the Te atom pointed away from the porphyrin core (as represented by 3A and 3B in Chart 1). 3 Telluraporphyrins 1 and 2 are easily oxidized, 4 and the close proximity of heteroatoms leads to unusual bonding interactions within the core with Te in the þ4 oxidation state. 5 Telluraporphyrins 1 and 2 are also catalysts for the activation of H 2 O 2 via oxidation of Te(II) to Te(IV). 6 The unusual structure of ditelluraporphyrin 3 gives reduced symmetry relative to other porphyrins, and coremodified porphyrins and spectral features of the ditelluraporphyrin are quite different from those of related structures. The "flipped" tellurophene of 3 exchanges positions with the other tellurophene via a dynamic process, which is observed in temperature-dependent 1 H NMR spectra of 3. 3 At 210 K, the exchange process has slowed to the point that the ring protons of the two different tellurophenes are distinct with a 2 ppm difference in chemical shift. 3 Furthermore, the symmetry is unusual for a porphyrin with four identical meso-substituents with a single mirror plane, as shown in 3A (Chart 1), as the only symmetry element.