SYNTHESES OF MONOMETALLATED AND UNSYMMETRICALLY SUBSTITUTED BINUCLEAR PHTHALOCYANINES AND A PENTANUCLEAR PHTHALOCYANINE BY SOLUTION AND POLYMER SUPPORT METHODS

Binuclear phthalocyanines in which two different phthalocyanine nuclei are covalently linked through five-atom bridges, derived from 2-ethyl-2-methylpropane-1,3-diol, are prepared. In the examples, one phthalocyanine ring is always substituted with neopentoxy substituents, while the other phthalocyanine ring is unsubstituted or contains tert-butyl substituents or a neopentoxy-substituted copper phthalocyanine, constituting a binuclear phthalocyanine in which only one ring is metalated. The precursor, 2-(2-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methylbutoxy)-9,16,23-trineopentoxyphthalocyanine was prepared in solution and also by solid-phase methods, using polymer-bound trityl chloride derived from a 1% divinylbenzene-co-styrene copolymer. A metal-free pentanuclear phthalocyanine, in which four phthalocyaninyl groups are covalently bound to the four benzo groups of a central phthalocyanine nucleus, is described and characterized by FAB mass spectroscopy. In some experiments some rare examples of demetalation of some zinc phthalocyanines are noted during phthalocyanine formation. A modified flash chromatography procedure proved to be useful for separating similarly substituted mononuclear phthalocyanines.