Meso-trans-diaryldihexadecyltetrabenzoporphyrins and their zinc complexes: Synthesis and spectra

3-(1-Oxo-1H-isoindol-3-yl)(phenyl)methylidene]-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-1-one, 3-(1-oxo-1H-isoindol-3-yl)(1-naphthyl)methylidene]-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-1-one, and 3-(1-oxo-1H-isoindol-3-yl)(9-anthryl)methylidene]-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-1-one were prepared by the reactions of phthalimide with phenylacetic, 1-naphthylacetic, and 9-anthrylacetic acids, respectively. Heating of these precursors with stearic acid in the presence of zinc oxide yielded zinc complexes of meso-trans-diphenyldihexadecyltetrabenzoporphyrin, meso-trans-di(1-naphthyl)dihexadecyltetrabenzoporphyrin, and meso-trans-di(9-anthryl)dihexadecyltetrabenzoporphyrin, respectively. Treatment of the metal complexes with HCl yielded the porphyrin bases. The spectral properties of the compounds were studied.