Crystal structure of 2,3-dimeth-oxy-meso-tetra-kis(penta-fluoro-phen-yl)morpholino-chlorin methyl-ene chloride 0.44-solvate.

The title morpholino-chlorin, C(46)H(16)F(20)N(4)O(3), was crystallized from hexa-ne/methyl-ene chloride as its 0.44 methyl-ene chloride solvate, C(46)H(16)F(20)N(4)O(3)·0.44CH(2)Cl(2). The morpholino-chlorin was synthesized by stepwise oxygen insertion into a porphyrin using a 'breaking and mending strategy': NaIO(4)-induced diol cleavage of the corresponding 2,3-di-hydroxy-chlorin with in situ methanol-induced, acid-catalyzed intra-molecular ring closure of the inter-mediate secochlorins bis-aldehyde. Formally, one of the pyrrolic building blocks was thus replaced by a 2,3-di-meth-oxy-morpholine moiety. Like other morpholino-chlorins, the macrocycle of the title compound adopts a ruffled conformation, and the modulation of the porphyrinic π-system chromophore induces a red-shift of its optical spectrum compared to its corresponding chlorin analog. Packing in the crystal is governed by inter-actions involving the fluorine atoms of the penta-fluoro-phenyl substituents, dominated by C-H⋯F inter-actions, and augmented by short fluorine⋯fluorine contacts, C-F⋯π inter-actions, and one severely slipped π-stacking inter-action between two penta-fluoro-phenyl rings. The solvate methyl-ene chloride mol-ecule is disordered over two independent positions around an inversion center with occupancies of two × 0.241†(5) and two × 0.199†(4), for a total site occupancy of 88%.