The search for new dyes to be used as photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a field of great interest from both experimental and theoretical viewpoints.In this study, the main photophysical properties (excitation energies, singlet-triplet energy gap, and spin orbit coupling matrix elements) of some unsubstituted and iodine substituted phosphorus corrole complexes have been determined by using density functional theory and its time-dependent formulation. Results show that these compounds can be proposed as photosensitizers in PDT. The heavy atom effects have been rationalized on the basis of El-Sayed rules. K E Y W O R D S DFT, heavy atom effect, PDT, phosphorus corrole complexes, TDDFT 1PF2-I4 555 [0.230] 548 [0.238] 589 [0.62] 545 [0.134] 535 [0.114] 544 [0.15] 403 [1.120] 403 [1.048] 423 [2.80] 2PF2-I3 552 [0.274] 540 [0.252] 587 [0.61] 531 [0.072] 521 [0.063] 570 [0.42] 400 [1.446] 399 [1.398] 415 [2.88] 2PF2-I4 558 [0.269] 553 [0.275] 587 [0.61] 541 [0.123] 533 [0.103] 570 [0.42] 402 [1.427] 406 [0.498] 417 [3.06] Note: Experimental values are taken from Ref. [12].