Structural characterisation and theoretical study of a dinuclear copper(II) complex bridged by meta-phenylenediiminophenolate moiety.

A dinuclear doubly bridged copper(II) complex [Cu 2 L 2 ] where L represents N, N′-bis(3-ethoxysalicylidene)-4-methyl-1,3-phenylenediamine has been synthesised. The ligand was characterised by elemental analysis and spectroscopic techniques such as 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FT–IR, UV–visible and ESI–mass. The copper(II) complex was characterised using partial elemental analysis, FT-IR and UV–visible spectral techniques. The solid state structure of the complex was carried out using single crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystallographic study reveals that the two copper(II) metal ions are four coordinated (O 2 N 2) via phenolate O and azomethine N atoms, forming an unusual geometry between tetrahedral and square-planar. Cyclic voltammetry of complex reveals two consecutive quasi-reversible one electron redox couples corresponding to CuII–CuII/CuII–CuI and CuII–CuI/CuI–CuI. Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-dependent density functional theory (TD–DFT) calculations were carried out for the determination of the optimized structures. The theoretically obtained fundamental vibrational frequencies show good agreement with observed values. The ligand binds to Cu(II) in 1:1 stoichiometry as determined by Job's plot and the binding constant is calculated as 6.8 × 102 M−1 in solution phase. The photoluminescence property of the complex has also been investigated to understand its emission behaviour. Image 1 • A tetradentate m -phenylenediamine based ligand yields a dinuclear copper complex. • The strain involved during coordination introduces a distorted tetrahedral geometry. • UV-visible spectral titrations indicate a 1:1 binding ratio for Cu2+ and H 2 L. • · DFT/TD-DFT calculations demonstrate the stability of the binuclear copper complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]