Effects of coumarin substituents on the photophysical properties of newly synthesised phthalocyanine derivatives

In this study, synthesis of new ligands, 8-hydroxy-3-[p-(3′,4′-dicyanophenoxy)-phenyl]coumarin and 8-hexyloxy-3-[p-(3′,4′- dicyanophenoxy)-phenyl]coumarin, and their phthalocyanines, 2,9,16,23-tetrakis[8-hexyloxy-3-(4-oxyphenyl)coumarin]- metal-free and metallophthalocyanines {M[Pc(OBzCou)₄] (M = 2H, Zn(II), Co(II); Bz: benzene; Cou: coumarin)} were synthesised. The novel chromogenic compounds were characterised by elemental analysis: ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR,MALDI-TOF, IR and UV-vis spectral data. The effect of coumarin substituents on the photophysical properties of metal-free (H2Pc) and zinc phthalocyanines (ZnPc) derivatives has been examined. Spectrophotometric measurements revealed that coumarinsubstituted ZnPc derivatives were in the unaggregated form, whereas those of H₂Pc species were in aggregated form. It means that substitution of coumarin derivative prevents the cluster formation in the presence of zinc ion in the centre of Pc.