Core-modified expanded porphyrins: new generation organic materials.

Even though the first expanded porphyrin was reported in the mid-1960s, the advances in its chemistry are more recent. New and powerful synthetic methods have facilitated the availability in affordable quantities of expanded porphyrins in general and core modified systems in particular. This has stimulated interest in studying various properties pertaining to their potential applications in biomedicine and materials chemistry. In this Account, we not only summarize the details of the synthetic methodologies reported, but we also highlight studies that focus on the structural diversity, aromaticity, and anion and cation binding abilities of expanded porphyrins.