In view of developing artificial light-responsive complex systems, the preparation of discrete and robust heteroleptic assemblies of different chromophores in precisely defined positions is of great value since they would allow to investigate directional processes unavailable in symmetrical architectures. Here we describe the preparation, through a modular stepwise approach, and characterization of four novel and robust metal-mediated heteroleptic 4+3 porphyrin tapes, labeled D-4-T-4-D-4, D-3-T-4-D-3, D-4-T-3-D-4, and D-3-T-3-D-3, where a central meso-tetrapyridylporphyrin (either 3 '-TPyP=T-3 or 4 '-TPyP=T-4) is connected to two equal cis-dipyridylporphyrins (either 3 ' cisDPyMP=D-3 or 4 ' cisDPyMP=D-4) through four {t,c,c-RuCl2(CO)(2)} fragments. Whereas D-4-T-4-D-4 is flat, the tapes containing at least one 3 ' PyP, i. e. D-3-T-4-D-3, D-4-T-3-D-4, and D-3-T-3-D-3, have unprecedented - and well defined - 3D geometries, and each exists in solution as a pair of stereoisomers in slow conformational equilibrium. The X-ray molecular structures of two such conformers, the C-shaped (D-3-T-4-D-3)(C) and the z-shaped (D-4-T-3-D-4)(z), were determined and are fully consistent with the solution NMR findings.
