Four-Coordinate Iron(II) Porphyrinates:  Electronic Configuration Change by Intermolecular Interaction

The syntheses and structures of three four-coordinate iron(II) porphyrinates are reported. The three derivatives are tetraarylporphyrin species, where the aryl is either phenyl, p-methylphenyl, or p-methoxyphenyl. One of these derivatives, that of tetraphenylporphyrin, Fe(TPP), is a new crystalline phase that is distinct from the earlier reported phase (Collman, J. P.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1975, 97, 2676). This new phase of Fe(TPP) has a very saddled porphyrin core; the prior phase was ruffled. The iron atom has close interactions (∼3.10 Å) with two pyrrole C_b−C_b bonds above and below the porphyrin plane. Mössbauer spectra and magnetic susceptibility measurements, different for the two phases, provide strong evidence that the two phases of Fe(TPP) have distinct electronic structures that originate from intermolecular interactions.