Crystal structure of (diethyl ether-kappa O)[5,10,15,20-tetrakis(2-isothiocyanatophenyl)porphyrinato-kappa N-4]zinc diethyl ether solvate

The crystal structure of the title compound, [Zn(C48H24N8S4)(C4H10O)]center dot C4H10O, consists of discrete porphyrin complexes that are located on a twofold rotation axis. The Zn-II cation is fivefold coordinated by four N atoms of the porphyrin moiety and one O atom of a diethyl ether molecule in a slightly distorted square-pyramidal environment with the diethyl ether molecule in the apical position. The porphyrin backbone is nearly planar with the metal cation slightly shifted out of the plane towards the coordinating diethyl ether molecule. All four isothiocyanato groups of the phenyl substituents at the meso-positions face the same side of the porphyrin, as is characteristic for picket fence porphyrins. In the crystal structure, the discrete porphyrin complexes are arranged in such a way that cavities are formed in which additional diethyl ether solvate molecules are located around a twofold rotation axis. The O atom of the solvent molecule is not positioned exactly on the twofold rotation axis, thus making the whole molecule equally disordered over two symmetry-related positions.