Direct meso-alkynylation of porphyrins doubly assisted by pyridyl coordination

Direct meso-alkynylation of β,β'-dipyridylporphyrin with various alkynyllithium reagents has been achieved, in which the β,β'-dipyridyl groups play an important role in facilitating the nucleophilic addition of the reagents through double coordination. This method enabled the synthesis of a meso-ethynylene-bridged diporphyrin.