Formation of the intermediate-spin iron(III) porphyrin complexes with (dxz, dyz)3(dxy)1(dz2)1 electron configuration.

On the basis of the difference in meso-13C chemical shifts, we have concluded that the intermediate-spin iron(III) complexes with highly ruffled and highly saddled porphyrins have different electron configurations. While the latter has a conventional (dxy)2(dxz, dyz)2(dz2)1, the former adopts a novel (dxz, dyz)3(dxy)1(dz2)1.