Self-Aggregation of Synthetic Magnesium Bacteriochlorins as a Photosynthetic Antenna Model

We prepared 3-(1-hydroxyethyl)-bacteriopyrochlorophy11-a (3) possessing magnesium atom and phytyl ester from modification of natural bacteriochlorophyll(BChl)-a. A dichloromethane solution of (3$^1$R) and (3$^1$S)-3 was diluted with 100~1000 fold volume of cyclohexane to give new species absorbing near-infrared lights. The resulting Q, maximum of (3$^1$R)-3 was 860 nm and red-shifted by 2150 $cm^{-1}$ / from the monomeric. In the nonpolar organic solvent, epimeric (3$^1$S)-3 showed a 1ess red-shifted peak at 798 nm as well as a residual monomeric band. Such visible spectra indicated that 3 diastereose1ectively aggregated in cyclohexane to afford oligomers possessing a simi1ar supramolecular structure with chlorosomal aggregates of natural BChl-d, 7,8-dehydro-form of 3.