Triarylporphyrin meso-Oxy Radicals: Remarkable Chemical Stabilities and Oxidation to Oxophlorin π-Cations

5-Hydroxy-10,15,20-triarylporphyrin (oxophlorin) and its Ni(II) and Zn(II) complexes were oxidized with PbO₂ to give the corresponding porphyrin meso-oxy radicals as remarkably stable species. These radicals were fully characterized with X-ray diffraction analysis, UV/vis/NIR absorption and ESR spectroscopies, magnetic susceptibility measurement, electrochemical studies, and theoretical calculations. Free-base radical and its Ni(II) complex have been shown to exist as a monoradical in solution, while the Zn(II) complex exists in an equilibrium between monomer (doublet monoradical) and dimer (a non-Kekulé singlet biradicaloid) with a dimerization constant of K_D = 3.0 × 10⁵ M^-1 in noncoordinating CH₂Cl₂ but becomes a pyridine-coordinated monoradical upon addition of pyridine. Variable temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements of these radicals revealed different magnetic interactions in the solid-states, which has been interpreted in terms of their different packing structures in a microscopic sense. These radicals undergo one-electron oxidation and reduction in a reversible manner within narrow potential windows of 0.57-0.82 V. Finally, one-electron oxidation of Ni(II) and Zn(II) porphyrin meso-oxy radicals with tris(4-bromophenyl)aminium hexachloroantimonate furnished oxophlorin π-cations, which displayed nonaromatic closed-shell character, NIR absorption, and significant double bond character of the C-O bond.