Rational design of a reactive yet stable organic-based photocatalyst.

Zinc perfluoro-fluoroalkyl-phthalocyanine, synthesized in high yield, does not exhibit electron loss, does not aggregate in solution, is photostable and produces (1)O(2) in very high quantum yields. Aerobic photo-oxygenation of an external substrate occurs without catalyst self-oxidation. The encapsulation of a metal center in a refractory organic environment could guide the design of other viable catalysts for oxygenation of substrates either for synthesis or for oxidative destruction of organic or biological molecules, under reaction conditions that include the use of only air and light.