A 1,2‐Phenylene‐Bridged Porphyrin Dimer—Synthesis, Properties, and Molecular Structure

The porphyrin rings in the porphyrin dimer 1 are nearly planar, but they are considerably tilted toward each other. Compound 1 is of interest as a model for the special pair of the photosynthetic reaction center. The average distance between the two porphyrin planes is only 3.43 Å. The resulting strong interactions—resembling those in excimers—lead to a lowering of the energy of the S1 state and facilitate one-electron oxidation.