Hydrogen bond controlled adduct formation of meso-tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin with protic acids: A UV–vis spectroscopic study

Interaction of meso-tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (H2tppS4) with weak and strong protic acid have been studied by UV–vis spectroscopy in water, dichloromethane and methanol. Different shifts of the Soret and Q(0,0) bands in the three solvents, the aggregation of diprotonated species and the stability of porphyrin–acid adducts in the solution, may be explained by the inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonds. Whilst, the addition of excess amounts of tetra-n-butylammonium chloride to H2tppS4(Cl)2 in dichloromethane has little to no effect on the UV–vis spectrum of the dication, gradual addition of tetra-n-butylammonium hydrogen sulfate to the dichloromethane solution of H2tppS4(H2SO4)2 leads to the degradation of adducts and the release of porphryin. The results of this study clearly show the crucial role played by hydrogen bonds between the porphyrin diprotonated species and the counter ion in the stability of porphyrin diacids in solution.