Porphyrins are excellent molecules for electron transfer reactions, with the arrangement of these molecules into highly order macrostructures resulting in enhanced opto-electronic properties. Two discrete self-assembly reactions resulting in porphyrin nanostructures were investigated. For the first system, the controlled acidification of  5,10,15,20-tetra(4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP) solutions resulted in the formation of distinct macrostructures whose morphology clearly showed pH dependence.  Atomic Force Microscopy was used to study the morphology of the obtained structures. In the second system, the intercalation of 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrin (TPyP) into the lamellar zirconium phosphate (ZrP) lattice was explored. Zirconium phosphates are layered inorganic  materials with a general formula of Zr(HPO4)2�nH2O which have the capacity to host molecules between its layers. The intercalation of TPyP into ZrP was verified using X-ray powder diffraction, which showed a new phase corresponding to an enlarged interlayer distance of 13.6 �.

Self-assembly of porphyrin nanostructures

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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