Synthesis of supramolecular fullerene–porphyrin–Cu(phen)2–ferrocene architectures. A heteroleptic approach towards tetrads

Abstract

Four supramolecular fullerene–porphyrin–Cu(phen)₂–ferrocene architectures were accessed by a twofold coordination strategy. At first, the phenanthroline-linked zinc porphyrins 1–4, conceived as supramolecular synthons, were combined with a ferrocene module, 3,8-(diferrocenylethynyl)phenanthroline (5), by a Cu(I)-mediated heteroleptic bisphenanthroline complexation (HETPHEN) protocol to furnish the porphyrin–Cu(phen)₂–ferrocene aggregates 6–9. Subsequently, the fullerene module 10 was incorporated by axial pyridyl coordination to the zinc porphyrin, affording 11–14. Their suitability as tetrads was interrogated using electrochemical and photophysical data.