Photoreduction of methyl viologen in micellar solutions sensitized by zinc phthalocyanine

Abstract

Incorporating zinc(II) tetrasulphophthalocyanine in cationic micelles prevents dimerisation and inhibits the formation of photoinactive complexes with Methyl Viologen, and illumination of such solutions in the presence of cysteine leads to irreversible reduction of viologen; nonsulphonated zinc(II) phthalocyanine can also be solubilized in surfactant solutions and is a more efficient photosensitizer for this reaction.