Synthesis and structural characterization of a novel covalently-bound corrole dimer

The (triphenylphosphine)cobalt(III) complex (2) of 5,10,15-tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole (1) is shown to be an valuable precursor to complexes that have not been fully characterized previously. In contrast to other cobalt corroles, aromatic amines can be substituted for the triphenylphosphine in 2 to form six-coordinate bis(amine)cobalt(III) complexes. This is demonstrated by spectroscopic methods and by X-ray crystallography of the bis-pyridine complex 4, the first of its kind. While 2 and 4 and even their one-electron oxidized complexes are stable, a spontaneous dimerization of the corrole takes place in the absence of strongly bound ligands. The bis-cobalt complex of the novel corrole dimer 6 was fully characterized by spectroscopic methods and X-ray crystallography.