Synthesis and electrochemistry of β-pyrrole nitro-substituted cobalt( ii ) porphyrins. The effect of the NO 2 group on redox potentials, the electron transfer mechanism and catalytic reduction of molecular oxygen in acidic media

Four cobalt(II) porphyrins, two of which contain a β-pyrrole nitro substituent, were synthesized and characterized by electrochemistry and spectroelectrochemistry. The investigated compounds are represented as (TRPP)Co and (NO2TRPP)Co, where TRPP is the dianion of a substituted tetraphenylporphyrin and R is a CH3 or OCH3 substituent on the four phenyl rings of the macrocycle. Two reductions and three oxidations are observed for each compound in CH2Cl2 containing 0.10 M tetra-n-butylammonium perchlorate. The first reduction of the compounds without a nitro substituent is metal-centered and leads to formation of a Co(I) porphyrin which then reacts with the CH2Cl2 solvent to generate a carbon σ-bonded Co(III)-R complex. A further reduction then occurs at more negative potentials to generate an unstable Co(II) σ-bonded compound. In contrast to these reactions, the first reduction of the nitro-substituted porphyrins is macrocycle-centered under the same solution conditions and gives a Co(II) porphyrin π-anion radical product. This reversible electron transfer is then followed at more negative potentials by a second reversible one-electron addition to give a Co(II) dianion. Three reversible one-electron oxidations are also seen for each compound. The first is metal-centered and the next two involve the conjugated π-system of the macrocycle. Each neutral Co(II) porphyrin was also examined as to its catalytic activity for electroreduction of molecular oxygen when coated on an edge-plane pyrolytic graphite electrode in 1.0 M HClO4. The β-pyrrole nitro-substituted derivatives were shown to be better catalysts than the non-nitro substituted compounds under the utilized experimental conditions.