Effects of substituents and solvents on the photochemical properties of zinc phthalocyanine complexes and their protonated derivatives

Zinc phthalocyanine derivatives containing various ring substituents and axial ligands were studied with respect to the effect of substituents on protonation. Aggregation resulted in failure of some of the ZnPc derivatives to protonate. In fact addition of protonating agents to aggregated ZnPc derivatives resulted in increase in aggregation followed by slow degradation. Axial ligands were lost on protonation. Photobleaching, fluorescence and singlet oxygen quantum yields of the protonated derivatives were compared with those of the unprotonated derivatives. In all cases protonation decreases the singlet oxygen and fluorescence quantum yields. However, photobleaching quantum yields decreased (i.e. stability increased) for the protonated derivatives except when axial ligands were present, where protonation resulted in decrease in stability. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.