Tetra-2,3-pyrazinoporphyrazines with Externally Appended Pyridine Rings. 4. UV−Visible Spectral and Electrochemical Evidence of the Remarkable Electron-Deficient Properties of the New Tetrakis-2,3-[5,6-di{2-(N-methyl)pyridiniumyl}pyrazino]porphyrazinatometal Octacations, [(2-Mepy)8TPyzPzM]8+ (M = MgII(H2O), CoII, CuII, ZnII)

Metal derivatives of the octacationic tetrakis-2,3-[5,6-di{2-(N-methyl)pyridiniumyl}pyrazino]porphyrazine macrocycle [(2-Mepy)8TPyzPzH2]8+ (2-Mepy ) 2-(N-methyl)pyridiniumyl ring) isolated as water-soluble hydrated iodide salts of the general formula [(2-Mepy)8TPyzPzM](I8).xH2O, (M ) Mg(II)(H2O), Co(II), Cu(II), Zn(II); x = 2-5) were prepared from the corresponding neutral complexes [Py8TPyzPzM].xH2O previously reported. Reaction of these complexes with CH3I in N,N-dimethylformamide under mild conditions led to full quaternization of all eight pyridine N atoms and formation of the octacations [(2-Mepy)8TPyzPzM]8+. Clathrated water molecules could be eliminated from the species [(2-Mepy)8TPyzPzM](I8).xH2O by mild heating (< or = 100 °C) under vacuum, but the unsolvated species which were formed tended to rehydrate when exposed to air. Magnetic susceptibility measurements and EPR spectra prove that the Cu(II) and Co(II) complexes in the solid state are both paramagnetic with one unpaired electron, thus giving a low-spin state Co(II) for the latter compound. Studies of the charged species [(2-Mepy)8TPyzPzM]8+ in aqueous media at ca. 10-5 M concentration provide evidence for the occurrence of molecular aggregation, similar to what is seen for the related free-base species [(2-Mepy)8TPyzPzH2]8+ (see part 3 of this series, preceding paper in this issue), but the formation of monomeric species is generally favored upon dilution of the solutions. The same octacations are essentially monomeric in solutions of pyridine or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), but traces of aggregation, if occasionally present, vanish with the time. Changes in the UV-visible spectra are observed in the Q- and B-band regions as a result of the quaternization at the pyridine N atoms. Cyclic voltammetry and thin-layer spectroelectrochemical data in DMSO show well-resolved reversible multistep one-electron reductions for both the unmethylated and methylated complexes, all of which appear to be ligand-centered, the only exception being reduction of the Co(II) complex. For this species, the first one-electron reduction is a metal-centered Co(II)- Co(I) process, but the site of electron transfer is reversed and the final product upon a further one-electron reduction is formulated as a CoII dianion as opposed to a Co(I) ?-anion radical. This sequence is similar to what was earlier reported for reduction of the same compound in pyridine. Reversible one-electron oxidations are also observed for the unmethylated species [Py8TPyzPzM].xH2O where M ) CoII and MnII in DMSO. Remarkably, the octacationic macrocycles [(2-Mepy)8TPyzPzM](I8).xH2O, (M ) Mg(II)(H2O), Co(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II); x = 2-5) are more easily reduced at any step of the reduction than the corresponding unquaternized species with the same metal ion. This indicates a higher tendency to stepwise electron uptake after the quaternization process, which enhances the charge redistribution capability within the species formed by the electroreduction.