Tetraketone porphyrin monomers and the porphyrin-based polymers thereof

A process to produce a linear polymer of the structure:

• ##STR25## wherein M is a metal atom;
• n is between 2 and 3000;
• Ar is an organic moiety having two separate sets of two adjacent reaction sites contained in at least one aromatic ring;
• R is selected from phenyl, alkyl substituted phenyl, or halogen substituted phenyl, which process comprises:
• (a) contacting a tetraketone of structure:
• ##STR26## with a tetraamine or a tetraamine hydrohalide of one organic moiety having two separate sets of adjacent reaction sites containing at least one aromatic ring:
• (b) maintaining the solution of step (a) in the presence of a strong organic base and a dipolar aprotic solvent for between about 1 and 10 hr. at about ambient temperature;
• and recovering the polymer of structure X;
• and
• (c) optionally adding a metal M salt to produce structure Xa.

The polymer of structure X:

• ##STR31## wherein R is selected from phenyl, alkyl substituted phenyl, halogen substituted phenyl and alkoxy substituted phenyl;
• and
• Ar is selected from the group consisting of:
• ##STR32## p1 wherein when Q is oxygen (O), A is --(CH.sub.2).sub.m --, --(CH.sub.2 CH(CH.sub.3).sub.m --, ##STR33## --(OCF.sub.2 CF.sub.2).sub.m --, or --(CF.sub.2 --CF(CF.sub.3)).sub.m --, where m is 1 to 10,000;
• or
• when Q is a direct carbon-carbon bond, A is --(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O).sub.m --, --(CH.sub.2 CH(CH.sub.3)O).sub.m --, or --(SiR'.sub.2 O).sub.m --, wherein R' is methyl, ethyl, propyl, or butyl and m is 1 to 10,000;
• and
• n is between 2 and 3000.