The one-pot self-coupling reaction of 3-amino-5-bromo-BODIPY 9 under Buchwald-Hartwig amination conditions gave nitrogen-bridged cyclic BODIPY tetramer 10, pentamer 11, and hexamer 12. Oxidation of 10, 11, and 12 in the presence of alkali metal ions provided 13, 15, and 16, respectively, as the first examples of expanded azaporphyrins possessing more than six pyrrole rings. Curiously, the oxidation even in the absence of alkali metal ions gave the same complexes as a result of spontaneous complexation. 10-12 showed large association constants (104 -106 M-1 ) with K+ and Na+ , but the spontaneous complexations were not observed, indicating the extremely high affinities of 13-16 toward alkali metal ions, which can be ascribed to the multiple and effective ion-dipole interaction of the alkali metal ion with the negatively polarized F atoms of the BF2 walls surrounding the cavity. Importantly, 13, 14, and 15 show diatropic ring currents as a result of global aromaticity.
Keywords: Alkali Metal Complexation; Aromaticity; BODIPY; Expanded Azaporphyrin; Near-Infrared Absorption.
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