Laser flash photolysis of dioxo iron phthalocyanine intercalated in hydrotalcite and its use as a photocatalyst

Dioxo iron phthalocyanine tetrasulphonate (FeO₂Pc) has been incorporated inside the intergallery space of a layered double oxide (LDH). Evidence for the inclusion of the FeO₂Pc inside the intergallery spaces of LDH was obtained from the expansion of the basal layer distance of the host. The resulting material (0.10-0.13 mmol FeO₂Pc × g^-1) exhibits the optical spectrum characteristic of isolated metal phthalocyanine. Laser flash photolysis of the solid allows detecting the triplet excited state of the metal complex as a long-lived transient species whose decay is not complete in 2 ms. The solid is able to act as an effective photocatalyst for the degradation of aqueous phenol.