The reaction with Co(II) was performed in the dark under exclusion of oxygen. So was the reaction of porphine with FeCl 2 , which produced a moderate yield of (porhyrinato)iron(III) chloride instead of Fe(II) porphine, as expected. (Porphyrinato)manganese(III) chloride and bromide were obtained by a room temperature reaction of porphine and the manganese(II) halide in benzonitrile in the presence of sodium acetate. The crystal structure of (porphyrinato)manganese(III) bromide is square pyramidal, with the manganese atom displaced 0.225 Å out of the plane of the nitrogen atoms. The beta carbons of the porphine ligand are displaced by ~0.1 Å in the opposite direction, giving the molecule the shape of an inverted umbrella (Figure ). The metalloporphyrins were characterized by IR (Table and