A highly enantiopure biconcave porphyrin with effective D4-structure

ABSTRACT

A first representative of an effectively D4-symmetric biconcave porphyrin (1) was prepared from a tetramerizing condensation of a C2-symmetric pyrrole (2). The chiral pyrrole 2 was synthesized in a six-step reaction sequence starting from the C2h-symmetric 2,6-di-tert-butylanthracene. The relevant stereochemistry was introduced in a highly diastereo-discriminating Diels-Alder reaction with fumaric acid di(-)menthyl ester, catalyzed by aluminum chloride. X-ray analyses of two of the dimenthyl esters prepared unambiguously secured their tentatively assigned absolute configuration and that of the pyrrole 2 (as the S,S isomer). The enantiomeric purity of the pyrrole 2 was determined as 99% ee, using the Co11 complex of the porphyrin 1 as a chiral shift reagent. The pyrrole 2 lent itself to a stereochemically nearly uniform preparation of the chiral, biconcave porphyrin 1. Applying Horeau's principle, 1 was calculated to be present in an enantiomeric excess of about 10(9)1. The validity of the statistical considerations relevant for this estimate were verified by examination of the results from preparative tetramerization experiments in which the enantiomeric purity of the pyrrole 2 was deliberately lowered.