Benzophenone derivatives having various tetraalkylammonium ion in the 4 position (II, III, IV, and V) were found to be much more efficient sensitizers than benzophenone (I) in photooxidation of Leuco Crystal Violet (LCV) to Crystal Violet (CV+) in acetonitrile in air, which was interpreted in terms of the cationic atmosphere effect facilitating the primary electron transfer process from LCV to BP* 3.