Two series of beta,beta'-pyrrole butano- and benzo-substituted mangenese(III) tetraarylporphyrins were synthesized and characterized with regard to their spectral and electrochemical properties. The investigated compounds have the general formula butano(Ar)(4)PorMnCl and benzo(Ar)4PorMnCl, where Por is the dianion of the porphyrin and Ar is a p-CH3Ph, Ph or p-ClPh group on each of the four meso-positions of the macrocycle. Each manganese(III) butano- or benzoporphyrin was examined in CH2Cl2 and/or pyridine containing 0.1 M tetra-n-butylammonium perchlorate and the data then were compared to that of the parent tetraarylporphyrins having the same meso-substituents. Up to four reductions are observed for each compound, the first being metal-centered to generate a Mn(II) porphyrin, and the second and third being porphyrin ring-centered to give a Mn(II) porphyrin it-anion radical and dianion, respectively. The one-electron reduced manganese porphyrins have an ESR spectrum with signals at g(perpendicular to)= 5.6-5.8 and g(//) = 2.0, indicating a mixture of the four and five-coordinated Mn(II) complexes in a high-spin state (3d(5), S = 5/2, I = 5/2). Data from cyclic voltammetry and spectroelectrochemistry both suggest that formation of the porphyrin dianion is followed by a chemical reaction at the electrode surface to give an electroactive phlorin anion. The effects of solvent and porphyrin substituents on ultraviolet visible light (UV-vis) spectra, redox potentials, and electron transfer mechanisms are discussed.