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.