Selective Catalytic Oxidation of Naphthol to Lawsone on Copper Phthalocyanine

A green chemistry approach is used for the synthesis of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) and its application for the conversion of 2-naphthol to 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (HNQ, Lawsone) in alkaline aqueous solution using H2O2 as an oxidizing agent. The product obtained was compared with that of authentic sample and was found to be identical. Further the effect of amount of catalyst, amount of NaOH, amount of starting material and amount of H2O2, on the rate of reaction was investigated. The efficiency of The reaction was checked using different solvents, temperature, use of substituted CuPc and other metals phthalocyanines.