Antimony porphyrin complexes as visible-light driven photocatalyst

This paper reviews the physicochemical properties and the photocatalytic application of antimony porphyrin complexes (SbTPP). A variety of antimony porphyrin complexes have been prepared and their spectroscopic and redox properties have been investigated. Especially we focused on the interaction between antimony porphyrin chromophore and the second chromophore on the axial ligands in the excited states from the viewpoint of electron and energy transfer quenching processes. Moreover, the photocatlytic activities of silica gel-supported antimony porphyrin complex have been demonstrated for the dechlorination of chlorophenols, oxidation of cycloalkenes, and bactericidal effects for E. coli and Legionella speices under visible-light irradiation. These results reveals the following unique characteristic properties of SbTPP complexes: covalently bonding with two unsymmetrically axial ligands, powerful oxidation ability under the excitation, reratively stable complex compared with other metalloporphyrins, high affinity with microorganisms owing to their cationic complexes, and low toxicity.