Ru(II)-centred porphyrin pentamers as coordination building blocks for large porphyrin arrays

Ru(II)-centred porphyrin pentamers have been synthesised with Ni or Zn porphyrins at the peripheral sites; these elaborate systems have been used as building blocks for large porphyrin arrays through their coordination chemistry with bidentate and tetradentate ligands; coordination of a sterically unhindered pentamer to a free-base tetrapyridylporphyrin yields a 21 porphyrin array.