Control of Aromaticity in Expanded Porphyrins Explained 

 

-Published in Chemical Reviews

 

 

 

 

On December 16, 2016, Yonsei Chemistry Professor Dongho Kim and his research team published a review article describing the control of aromaticity in various expanded porphyrins from the spectroscopic point of view with the assistance of theoretical calculations. The article was published in Chemical Reviews with the full title: “Control and Switching of Aromaticity in Various All-Aza-Expanded Porphyrins: Spectroscopic and Theoretical Analyses.”

 

Aromaticity refers to molecular bonds that are highly stable and do not break apart easily to react with other substances, while porphyrins are attractive molecules for exploring various types of aromaticity due to their circular conjugation pathways. According to Professor Kim: “Modification of aromaticity is regarded as one of the most interesting and important research topics

in the field of physical organic chemistry.” More specifically, studies on the control of aromaticity in expanded porphyrins promise to have important applications in terms of developing rapid saturable absorbers and in such fields as optoelectronics, solar energy, photodynamic therapy, and next-generation display technology.