Extremely Nonplanar meso-cis-Bis(Trifluoromethyl)-Substituted Tetrabenzoporphyrin Copper Complex with Remarkably Short N-Cu Distances.

We synthesized a 5,10-bis(trifluoromethyl)tetrabenzoporphyrin copper complex (cis-2CF-TBPCu) by first treating 5,10-bis(trifluoromethyl)tetrabutanoporphyrin (cis-2CF-TbP) with copper(II) acetate. The subsequent oxidation of the resulting 5,10-bis(trifluoromethyl)tetrabutanoporphyrin copper complex (cis-2CF-TbPCu) was achieved using 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ). The crystal structure of cis-2CF-TBPCu exhibited remarkably short N-Cu distances and was extremely nonplanar. Although the exact reason for the occurrence of these features remains unclear, it can possibly be attributed to the coordination of copper ions of +3 valency in the radical anionic ligand.