Preparation of Vanadyl Phthalocyaninate in a Mixture of n-Alkanes

The possibility of improving the procedure for preparing vanadyl phthalocyaninate in a mixture of normal aliphatic hydrocarbons by replacing phthalic anhydride in the starting reactants by phthalimide was evaluated. In the system with phthalimide, the vanadyl phthalocyaninate yield was thus increased by 21% and the synthesis time was decreased by a factor of 3. The formation of vanadyl phthalocyaninate was confirmed by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and optical absorption spectroscopy. Vanadyl phthalocyaninate can be efficiently separated after the synthesis from other system components by dissolution of the product in concentrated H₂SO₄, followed by precipitation of the metal complex on dilution of the sulfuric acid solution with water.