porphyrinbased

Porphyrin-based refers to compounds or materials in which porphyrin units are integral structural components. Porphyrins are macrocyclic tetrapyrroles composed of four pyrrole rings connected by methine bridges, forming a planar, highly conjugated ring system that can coordinate metals at its center. In porphyrin-based systems, the macrocycle can be free-base or metallated; central metal ions such as iron, zinc, copper, manganese, or cobalt impart distinctive redox, catalytic, and photophysical properties. Peripheral substituents allow tuning of solubility, absorption, and reactivity.

Synthesis and design typically involve constructing the porphyrin core and then introducing metal centers or attaching the macrocycle to extended frameworks or other functional groups. Porphyrin units are widely incorporated into materials such as porphyrin-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), polymers, and dye assemblies. These architectures enable control over porosity, connectivity, and optical or catalytic function.

Key properties include intense visible-region absorption with a Soret band around 400 nm and multiple Q-bands, high molar extinction coefficients, and versatile redox chemistry. Porphyrin-based species exhibit notable photophysical behavior, including excited-state lifetimes and singlet oxygen generation, making them valuable in photodynamic therapy and photocatalysis. Metallation further modulates catalytic activity for reactions such as oxygen reduction, hydrocarbon oxidation, and CO2 reduction.

Applications span energy conversion, photovoltaics, photomedicine, sensing, and catalysis. In materials science, porphyrin-based systems are explored for their tunable optical, electronic, and catalytic properties, often enabling synergistic performance in hybrid materials and devices.