Porphyrin photochemistry in inorganic/organic hybrid materials: Clays, layered semiconductors, nanotubes, and mesoporous materials

Porphyrin derivatives are known as useful functional dyes. Porphyrin derivatives exhibit various properties in complexes with inorganic host materials that are much different from those in homogeneous solutions. In this paper, the structure and photochemical properties of porphyrins in inorganic host materials such as clays, layered semiconductors, nanotubes, and mesoporous materials are described. The photochemical properties, including the absorption properties and excited lifetimes, are much affected by the complex formation with inorganic materials. Aggregation phenomena, structural perturbations, and selected chemical reactions such as metalation and protonation affect the photochemical properties of porphyrins accommodated in inorganic host materials. The combination of porphyrin derivatives and inorganic materials should be promising for the construction of novel hybrid materials. Inorganic materials can act as novel environments for photochemical reactions. The utilization of inorganic materials for photochemical reactions is also described.