Crystalline complexes, coordination polymers and aggregation modes of tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrin

Aggregation patterns of tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrin and of its zinc(II) complex in seven new solid materials have been investigated by X-ray diffraction. The metalloporphyrin compound forms two types of coordination polymers through ligation of the porphyrin periphery on one molecule to the metal center of an adjacent porphyrin. These include one-dimensional chains with a zigzag conformation, as well as three-dimensional, extensively interlinked, polymeric structures. The non-metallated compound reveals a characteristic layered arrangement and interporphyrin stacking of the type which is commonly observed in the structures of tetraphenylporphyrin derivatives. In the absence of a metal center, the basic functionality of the pyridyl substituents is utilized for effective H-bond directed coordination and co-crystallization with solvent/guest components. The stoichiometry of the porphyrin solvation, and the consequent interporphyrin organization in the solid phase, are quite sensitive to the nature of the coordinating solvent.