Novel routes to substituted 5,10,15-triarylcorroles

A one-pot procedure that allows the preparation of 5,10,15-triarylcorroles directly from the condensation of pyrrole and benzaldehydes, avoiding the concomitant formation of the corresponding tetraarylporphyrins, has been developed. This approach is general and allows the preparation of sterically hindered corroles from 2,6-disubstituted benzaldehydes, where the Rothemund approach failed. The first examples of fully substituted corrole free bases were prepared following this approach, but in this case corroles were obtained as a mixture with the corresponding dodecasubstituted porphyrins. Unsymmetrically substituted ABC corroles were obtained from the condensation of two different dipyrromethanes. A [2+1(2)] biladiene-like approach afforded 10-(4methylphenyl)-5,15-diphenylcorrole, along with a significant amount of tetraphenylporphyrin from the self-tetramerization of the starting pyrryl carbinol. An X-ray structure of 5,10,15-triphenylcorrole shows deviations from planarity that are attributed to the steric hindrance between the three hydrogen atoms present in the core of the corrole. Luminescence spectra of 5,10,15-triarylcorroles (where aryl = Ph, 3-NO2-Ph or 4-NO2-Ph) show intense emission bands that, in the case of the nitro derivatives, are strongly dependent upon the solvent. Copyright (C) 2003 Society of Porphyrins & Phthalocyanines.