Cr(III), Fe(III) and Co(III) complexes of tetradentate (ONNO) Schiff base ligands: Synthesis, characterization, properties and biological activity

A series of metal complexes were synthesized from equimolar amounts of Schiff bases: 1,4-bis[3-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldimine)propyl]piperazine (bappnaf) and 1,8-bis[3-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldimine)-p-menthane (damnaf) with metal chlorides. All of synthesized compounds were characterized by elemental analyses, spectral (UV–vis, IR, 1H-13C NMR, LC–MS) and thermal (TGA-DTA) methods, magnetic and conductance measurements. Schiff base complexes supposed in tetragonal geometry have the general formula [M(bappnaf or damnaf)]Cl·nH2O, where M = Cr(III), Co(III) and n = 2, 3. But also Fe(III) complexes have octahedral geometry by the coordination of two water molecules and the formula is [Fe(bappnaf or damnaf)(H2O)2]Cl. The changes in the selected vibration bands in FT-IR indicate that Schiff bases behave as (ONNO) tetradentate ligands and coordinate to metal ions from two phenolic oxygen atoms and two azomethine nitrogen atoms. Conductance measurements suggest 1:1 electrolytic nature of the metal complexes. The synthesized compounds except bappnaf ligand have the antimicrobial activity against the bacteria: Escherichia coli (ATCC 11230), Yersinia enterocolitica (ATCC 1501), Bacillus magaterium (RSKK 5117), Bacillus subtilis (RSKK 244), Bacillus cereus (RSKK 863) and the fungi: Candida albicans (ATCC 10239). These results have been considerably interest in piperazine derivatives due to their significant applications in antimicrobial studies.