Zinc complexes of 3-(ethylthio)phenyl-substituted phthalocyanines and naphthalocyanine: Synthesis and investigation of physicochemical properties

Novel 3-(ethylthio)phenyl-substituted phthalocyanine and naphthalocyanine zinc complexes were synthesised with high yields. The Suzuki cross-coupling reaction provides selective approaches to the initial mono- or di- 3-(ethylthio)phenyl-substituted phthalonitriles. The complexes obtained were characterised by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Observation of the nuclear Overhauser effect was used for aromatic proton assignment. The correlation between the number of 3-(ethylthio)phenyl groups, the size of the π-system and the position of the Q-band was defined. Visualisation of the influence of increasing π-system size on aggregate size was provided by atomic force microscopy.