Scheme 4.
LiNc-BuO was synthesized from lithium metal and octa-n-butoxy-substituted naphthalocyanine (Nc-BuO) (i) in n-pentanol. Nc-BuO macrocyclic ligand reacted with lithium pentoxide (lithium metal in pentanol) to give dilithium octa-n-butoxy-naphthalocyanine (Li2Nc-BuO) (ii), followed by oxidation to give LiNc-BuO radical (iii) which formed as needle-shaped dark-green microcrystals.