Metallophthalocyanines as Catalysts in Aerobic Oxidation

The first remarkable property associated to metallophthalocyanines (MPcs) was their chemical “inertness”, which made and make them very attractive as stable and durable industrial dyes. Nevertheless, their rich redox chemistry was also explored in the last decades, making available a solid and detailed knowledge background for further studies on the suitability of MPcs as redox catalysts. An overlook of MPcs and their catalytic activity with dioxygen as oxidants will be discussed here with a special emphasis on the last decade. The mini-review begins with a short introduction to phthalocyanines, from their structure to their main features, going then through the redox chemistry of metallophthalocyanines and their catalytic activity in aerobic oxidation reactions. The most significant systems described in the literature comprise the oxidation of organosulfur compounds such as thiols and thiophenes, the functionalization of alkyl arenes, alcohols, olefins, among other substrates.