Direct construction of diverse metallophthalocyanines by manifold substrates in a deep eutectic solvent

Direct access to a wide range of metal-free phthalocyanines and metallophthalocyanines in deep eutectic solvents (DESs), is reported. Substituted and unsubstituted phthalocyanines of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pd, In, and Pt with various raw materials such as phthalonitriles, phthalimides, phthalic anhydrides and phthalic acids are successfully prepared in the DES based on choline chloride and urea in a very short reaction time with appropriate yields. It has been shown that DES as a green and rapidly degraded reaction medium in the environment plays a triple role as a solvent, organocatalyst, and reactant in this process. Moreover, the DES system could be separated and reused in four consecutive reaction runs with no considerable loss in catalytic activity.