Isomorphous free-base, Ni(ii)- and Cu(ii)-5,10,15,20-tetra(4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin nitrobenzene hexasolvates with tetragonal 3D hydrogen-bonded network structures

Abstract

The crystal structures of 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-hydroxyphenyl)-21,23H-porphyrin nitrobenzene hexasolvate (1), 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrinatonickel(II) nitrobenzene hexasolvate (2) and 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrinatocopper(II) nitrobenzene hexasolvate (3) are described. Compounds 1–3 crystallise isomorphously in the non-centrosymmetric tetragonal space group P4cc with Z = 8. There are three crystallographically distinct porphyrin molecules, two of which contain fourfold axes perpendicular to the porphyrin plane. The remaining one contains a twofold axis perpendicular to the porphyrin ring system. The porphyrin building blocks are joined into a three-dimensional network through self-complementary O–H⋯O hydrogen bonding interactions between 4-hydroxyphenyl groups of adjacent molecules. The space occupied by the nitrobenzene solvent molecules is remarkably large at ca. 61.5% of the unit cell volume in 1–3.