Iodine(III) chloride and free base para-substituted meso-tetraarylporphyrins (H 2 t(4-Xp)p, X = OCH 3 , CH 3 , CH(CH) 3 , H, Cl) react at mild conditions for formation of [(ICl 3 )H 2 t(4-Xp)p] molecular complexes. The very close correspondence between the UV-VIS and ( 1 H, 13 C) NMR spectra of these complexes and molecular complexes of porphyrins with various acceptors indicated that two lone pairs of the pyrrolenine nitrogens in the tilted porphyrin macrocycle bonded to an iodine(III) center of ICl 3 .