Practical Applications of Phthalocyanines - from Dyes and Pigments to Materials for Optical, Electronic and Photo-electronic Devices

Phthalocyanines (Pc) produced for 75 years as blue and green pigments are the most important organic colorants. Color fastness, homogeneity, intensity, stability combined with a simple synthetic access is the prerequisite of this mostly planar aromatic pi-system for application as colorants. In the recent years the Pc found also applications in CD/Rs, as blue and green colors in LCDs, as photoconductor in laser printers and as p-conductor and absorber in organic solar cells. The system exhibits a great structural variability (different substituents and metals/metalloids in the ligand) in order to tune different properties. For various applications is also important a relatively simple synthesis. These are the presuppositions for new applications of Pcs in future also in other fields.