Photoelectrochemical synthesis of phthalocyanine
Abstract
Phthalocyanine has been synthesized photoelectrochemically with high current and quantum efficiencies at various p-type semiconductor electrodes. The reaction was followed by monitoring the absorption peak at 667 nm, which corresponds to phthalocyanine anion. Production of phthalocyanine was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, IR and UV–VIS spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The highest current efficiency was 75%, and ca. 1 V was saved by using p-GaP as a photoelectrode compared with dark electrolysis at a gold electrode. Detailed study showed that a photoelectrochemically-formed intermediate was thermally converted to phthalocyanine anion (Pc2–).