Synthetic, Characterization, Biological, Electrical and Catalytic Studies of Some Transition Metal Complexes of Unsymmetrical Quadridentate Schiff Base Ligand

Unsymmetrical tetradentate Schiff base N-(2-hydroxy-5-methylacetophenone)-N'-(2-hydroxy acetophenone) ethylene diamine (H₂L) and its complexes with Cr(III), Mn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, magnetic susceptibility measurements, IR, electronic spectra and thermogravimetric analyses. ¹H, ¹³C-NMR and FAB Mass spectra of ligand clearly indicate the presence of OH and azomethine groups. Elemental analyses of the complexes indicate that the metal to ligand ratio is 1:1 in all complexes. Infrared spectra of complexes indicate a dibasic quadridentate nature of the ligand and its coordination to metal ions through phenolic oxygen and azomethine nitrogen atoms. The thermal behavior of these complexes showed the loss of lattice water in the first step followed by decomposition of the ligand in subsequent steps. The thermal data have also been analyzed for the kinetic parameters by using Horowitz-Metzger method. The dependence of the electrical conductivity on the temperature has been studied over the temperature range 313-403 K and the complexes are found to show semiconducting behavior. XRD and SEM images of some representative complexes have been recorded. The antimicrobial activity of the ligand and its complexes has been screened against various microorganisms and all of them were found to be active against the test organisms. The Fe(III) and Ni(II) complex have been tested for the catalytic oxidation of styrene.