Abstract. C76H92N4Zn, Mr= 1126-97, triclinic, P1, a=10.397(2), b=13.236(4), c=25.149(5) A, ct =97.76 (1), fl= 105.96 (1), y=84.84 (1) °, V= 3292 (3) A 3, Z = 2, D x = 1.14 Mg m -3, 2(Cu Ks) = 1.5418 A, /a = 0.797 mm-', F(000) = 1212. Final R = 0.099 for 4041 observed reflexions. The porphine skeleton is non-planar. The Zn atom is only 0.15 A out of the plane of the core. Mean Zn...N distance is 2-024 (9) A,. The pertinent feature of the structure is the presence of four long aliphatic chains attached to the phenyl rings and lying approximately in the mean plane of the core. They adopt a centrosymmetric disposition, two of them being fully extended while the others are bent. The porphyrin nuclei are stacked in piles of dimers between which the chains are densely packed in parallel rows.