Sol-gel immobilization of octaethylporphine and hematoporphyrin for biomimetic photooxidation of α-pinene

► Two porphyrins, OEP and HmP-IX, in silica gel show good luminescent properties. ► Biocatalytic activity in the conversion of α-pinene is only found for OEP/SiO2. ► A correlation is observed between biocatalytic efficiency and fluorescence intensity. ► Bioconversion products are formed in the first-order reaction of photooxidation.