Photoreduction of methylviologen sensitized by amphiphilic phthalocyanatozinc(II) complexes

Non-ionic amphiphilic zinc(II) phthalocyanine 4 with eight oxyethylene side chains exhibits excellent solubility in water and organic solvents such as benzene, chloroform, methanol, THF and DMF. The monomer-aggregate equilibr ium of 4 was affected by the solvent polarity. Photoreduction of methylviol ogen (MV2+) in the presence of triethanolamine was also studied with the us e of non-ionic complex 4 under light irradiation. The yield for the radical formation of MV2+ was greatly increased by the addition of dimethylsulfoxi de (DMSO) and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) in aqueous solution. C opyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.