Synthesis of Crown Ether‐Lithium Phthalocyanine Complexes

Abstract

Dilithium phthalocyanine has attracted recent attention for potential application as a conductive material for lithium ion batteries. It has been found that one of the lithium ions is easily exchangeable or removed via a metathesis reaction. A variety of tetraalkyl ammonium halides and imidazolium tetrafluoroborates have been reported as participants in these metathesis reactions and the corresponding lithium phthalocyanine complexes have been characterized. In an alternative approach, two crown ethers, 12-crown-4 and 18-crown-6, have been mixed with dilithium phthalocyanine to afford two new compounds; 12-crown-4 lithium phthalocyanine and 18-crown-6 lithium phthalocyanine. Characterization of these compounds by H1NMR and elemental analysis has shown that along with the crown ether- lithium phthalocyanine compound, acetone and water are present. This corresponds to what was observed in the crystal structure of dilithium phthalocyanine which contains six moles of acetone and six moles of water in the unit cell.