The Role of Oxygen in Electrochemical Reduction of Double-Decker Phthalocyaninates of Lanthanides

The influence of air oxygen on the processes of electrochemical reduction of double-decker 15-crown-5 substituted lanthanide phthalocyaninates in solutions and Langmuir-Blodgett films on electrode surfaces was revealed. The multistage nature of the process, associated with formation of the intermediate oxygen-containing complexes of the studied compounds in the presence of atmospheric oxygen, was confirmed by cyclic voltammetry and spectroelectrochemical measurements. It was shown that spectra of the electrochemically reduced forms of complexes coincide with ones obtained via chemical reduction only upon application of extremely negative potentials or in the absence of air oxygen in electrolyte.