Heteroleptic Tetrapyrrole-Fused Dimeric and Trimeric Skeletons with Unusual Non-Frustrated Fluorescence

Phthalocyanine (Pc) and porphyrin (Por) chromophores have been fused through the benzo[α]pyrazine moiety, resulting in unprecedented heteroleptic tetrapyrrole-fused dimers and trimers. The heteroleptic tetrapyrrole nature has been clearly revealed based on single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of the zinc dimer. Electrochemical analysis, theoretical calculations, and time-resolved spectroscopic results disclose that the two/three-tetrapyrrole-fused skeletons behave as one totally π-conjugated system as a result of the strong conjugative interaction between/among the tetrapyrrole chromophores. In particular, the effectively extended π-electron system through the fused-bridge induced strong electronic communication between the Pc and Por moieties and large transition dipole moments in the Pc-Por-fused systems, providing high fluorescence quantum yields (>0.13) and relatively long excited state lifetimes (>1.3 ns) in comparison with their homo-tetrapyrrole-fused analogues.