The Template-Directed Synthesis of a Fully Conjugated 14-Porphyrin Nanoball

The preparation of conjugated organic systems with strong p-orbital overlap between the molecular components is both challenging and laborious. This chapter describes the template-directed synthesis and characterisation of a p-conjugated 14-porphyrin nanoball. The bicyclic structure consists of a 6- and 10-porphyrin nanoring intersecting at two points. UV-Vis-NIR titrations were performed to investigate the binding behaviour of the templates inside the cavity of the ball. In addition, photoluminescence (PL) upconversion spectroscopy revealed strong coupling between the two rings. By removing the templates, the flexibility in the system increases which results in a decrease in the PL anisotropy. This indicates that excitations may migrate between the two ring components of the nanoball.