Synthesis and photophysical properties of novel porphyrin dendrimers containing organoiron complexes

Dendritic porphyrins and metalloporphyrins are of great interest for their applications in many fields such as light-energy conversion, photodynamic therapy (PDT), third-order nonlinear optical materials, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) devices, fluorescence switches, and molecular wires. The synthesis and preliminary photophysical properties of novel porphyrin and metalloporphyrin dendrimers containing cationic η⁶-chloroarene-η⁵- cyclopentadienyliron(II) complexes functionalized with naphthalene and capped with ferrocene are described. The incorporation of cationic η⁶-chloroarene-η⁵-cyclopentadienyliron moieties can enhance solubility and facilitate nucleophilic aromatic substitution and addition reactions due to the intense electron-withdrawing ability of the iron center. Divergent approaches were employed to give highly symmetrical branched materials. The preparation of these dendrimers was achieved via metal-mediated nucleophilic aromatic substitutions and Steglich esterifications. These dendrimers and their precursors were characterized through nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy.Arts and Sciences, Irving K. Barber School of (Okanagan)Chemistry, Department of (Okanagan)Graduat