Abstract
THERE has been interest recently in oxidation and reduction reactions of metal phthalocyanines1–3. Ferrous phthalocyanine (FePc) dissolves in alcohols such as MeOH, EtOH, iso-PrOH and t-BuOH, each containing sodium hydroxide (0.1 per cent). The solutions in these alcohols have the characteristic visible absorption spectrum of FePc (Table 1)4. However, on refluxing the solutions in basic EtOH and iso-PrOH under nitrogen the colours change from blue to red. The red solutions are stable in the absence of oxygen, but react rapidly with traces of oxygen, giving solutions with the same visible absorption spectrum as before the colour change, except that the peak intensities are reduced by about 20 per cent. The sequence can be repeated. Acetone (about 0.0014 moles) was detected by V.P.C. from the reaction of FePc (0.0035 moles) with iso-PrOH containing sodium (0.1 per cent). The solutions in MeOH and in t-BuOH, both containing sodium hydroxide (0.1 per cent), do not change colour on refluxing.
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CHARMAN, H. Reduction of Metal Phthalocyanines. Nature 201, 1021–1022 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/2011021b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2011021b0
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