This work describes a simple and economical experiment for the extraction and purification of chlorophyll a from Spirulina maxima. Extraction and purification of natural compounds can be considered one of the most illustrative experiments that can be performed in Organic Chemistry courses. Particularly, the chromatography of dyes and pigments allows students to have a better comprehension of the chromatography separations. These compounds represent an important class of organic pigments applied in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, detergent compositions, and various other fields and can be extracted from plants and algae. To extract, separate and purify chlorophyll a from associated pigments such as xanthophylls, carotenes, and pheophytins, very costly processes are reported. The present approach is perfectly adequate for use in Chemistry experiments for undergraduate students.

Muitos compostos modelo contendo porfirinas têm sido preparados num esforço para entender o sistema de fotossíntese e os processos de aproveitamento de energia solar. Sistemas doadores-receptores contendo porfirinas têm sido freqüentemente estudados para testar várias descrições teóricas sobre transferência de elétrons. O estudo de parâmetros fotoquímicos e fotofísicos como a distância para transferência de energia, geometria molecular e a diferença de potencial eletrônico, tem se mostrado importante para a definição da transferência eletrônica em porfirinas. Neste trabalho apresentamos a síntese, purificação e caracterização por espectroscopia UV/Vis, ¹H e 19F RMN, luminescência e tempos de vida de novos modelos moleculares de porfirinas, que permitam investigar esses parâmetros. Utilizou-se o dímero Zn,Mn(TPPF4)2pip e seus monômeros ZnTPPF4pipH e MnF5TPP. A caracterização do ZnMn(TPPF4)2pip, foi dificultada devido a presença de Mn+3, devido ao forte acoplamento dos orbitais dpi do manganês e o sistema pi da porfirina, que aumenta a interação manganês-porfirina mudando o espectro eletrônico UV/Vis e distorcendo os sinais de ¹H e 19F RMN do dímero. A presença de Mn+3 desloca E1/2 do anel porfirínico para valores mais negativos, o que resulta em reduções mais difíceis, impedindo a transferência de energia da Znporfirina para a Mnporfirina.

Porphyrins have revealed that factors as the energy transfer distance, molecular geometry and the difference of electronic potential, are important in a well defined electronic transfer. Porphyrin- containing donor-acceptor systems have been usefully employed to test various theoretical descriptions of electron transfer. The objective of this paper consists on the synthesis, purification and characterization by UV/Vis spectroscopy, ¹H and 19F NMR, luminescence and lifetime of new molecular models, allowing the investigation of energy transfer parameters. This study was accomplished using the dimer Zn,Mn(TPPF4)2pip and its monomers ZnTPPF4pipH and MnF5TPP. The dimer characterization, Zn,Mn(TPPF4)2pip, was difficult due to the presence of Mn3+. The strong overlap between dpi orbitals of manganese and the porphyrin pi system increases the interaction manganese-porphyrin in changing the UV/Vis electronic spectrum and distorting the ¹H and 19F NMR signals of dimer. The presence of Mn3+ shifts the reduction potential of E1/2 of the porphyrin ring to more negatives values, what results in more difficult reductions, disabling the transfer of energy from Zincporphyrin to Manganeseporphyrin.