The Yamakoshi group has reported an effective photooxidation of benzylamines and tetrahydroisoquinolines using
fullerene C70 as a catalyst. In the presence of C
70 under oxygen atmosphere, benzylamine derivatives can be oxidized to afford imine derivatives in high yields. A similar reaction proceeds when using
fullerene C60 or
tetraphenylporfyrin (TPP) as a catalyst, but does not have some of the advantages of C
70 such as faster reaction times, longer light wavelengths, and lower catalyst loading. Furthermore, the current only reported use of C
70, the photo-cyanation to an imine moiety, proceeds in the presence of trimethylsilylcyanide.