Expanded porphyrins: intriguing structures, electronic properties, and reactivities

The chemistry of expanded porphyrins, which are higher homologues of porphyrins, has been intensively explored for the last three decades. Expanded porphyrins exhibit structures, electronic properties, coordination chemistry, and reactivities that are entirely different from those of porphyrins. Through these studies, it has become increasingly apparent that expanded porphyrins are attractive in views of aromaticity and multimetal coordination, or as functional dyes, nonlinear optical materials, ion receptors, or stable organic radicals. As such, we have continuously witnessed the emergence of expanded porphyrins that exhibit unprecedented structures and properties, as is highlighted by the facile realization of Möbius aromatic and even antiaromatic systems with twisted molecular structures. In this Review, the recent progress of the chemistry of expanded porphyrins after the seminal Review by Sessler and Seidel in 2003 is presented.