Towards the synthesis of substituted porphyrins by a pyridyl group bearing a reactive functionality

Pyridyl-substituted porphyrins bearing a reactive functionality were prepared via Suzuki cross-coupling reactions and resulted in very good yields. These compounds are precursors of new porphyrin architectures able to coordinate two metals: one in the porphyrin core and the second around the pyridyl moiety. During the coupling reactions, a higher reactivity of a chloro picolyl group was evidenced compared to a bromo function on the same reacting molecule.