Synthesis and characterization of VO(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes of chromone based azo-linked Schiff base ligand

Azo-Schiff-base complexes of VO(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV–Vis, 1H NMR, mass spectra, molar conductance, magnetic susceptibility measurement, electron spin resonance (EPR), CV, fluorescence, NLO and SEM. The conductance data indicate the nonelectrolytic nature of the complexes, except VO(II) complex which is electrolytic in nature. On the basis of electronic spectra and magnetic susceptibility octahedral geometry has been proposed for the complexes. The EPR spectra of copper and oxovanadium complexes in DMSO at 300 and 77 K were recorded and its salient features are reported. The redox behavior of the copper(II) complex was studied using cyclic voltammetry. The in vitro antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica typhi, Bacillus subtilis and Candida strains was studied and compared with that of free ligand by well-diffusion technique. The azo Schiff base exhibited fluorescence properties originating from intraligand (π–π∗) transitions and metal-mediated enhancement is observed on complexation and so the synthesized complexes can serve as potential photoactive materials as indicated from their characteristic fluorescence properties. On the basis of the optimized structures, the second-order nonlinear optical properties (NLO) are calculated by using second-harmonic generation (SHG) and also the surface morphology of the complexes was studied by SEM.

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► Co-ordinating possibility of p-phenylenediamine has been proved by condensing with carbonyl compounds.
► All the complexes posses’ octahedral geometry except oxovanadium complex which posses square pyramidal geometry.
► The Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes show greater antibacterial activity.
► The azo ligand exert second-harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency.
► The synthesized compounds can be better accommodated for optical applications.