A new iron(III) complex of glycine derivative of amine-chloro substituted phenol ligand: Synthesis, characterization and catechol dioxygenase activity

A new iron(III) complex of the glycine derivative of amine-chloro substituted phenol ligand (H3LGDC) has been prepared and characterized by IR, 1H NMR, UV–Vis spectroscopic techniques, cyclic voltammetry, ESI-MS and magnetic susceptibility studies. X-ray analysis reveals that in iron complex of FeLGDC the iron(III) center has a distorted trigonal bipyramidal coordination sphere and is surrounded by an amine nitrogen, a carboxylate, a water and two phenolate oxygen atoms. The DFT calculations with the UB3LYP/6-311++G** level optimized structure of the complex are in good agreement with experimental X-ray structural data. The variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility indicates that FeLGDC is the paramagnetic high spin iron(III) complex. It has been shown that electrochemical oxidation of this complex is ligand-centered due to the oxidation of phenolate to the phenoxyl radicals. This enzyme mimic utilized molecular oxygen in carrying out the oxidative cleavage of catechols with complete conversion at room temperature.

► An iron(III) complex of glycine derivative of chloro-substituted bis(phenol)amine synthesized.
► The complex displayed paramagnetic and metal-centered reduction, and a ligand-centered oxidation.
► The oxygenation cleavage of catechol derivatives with this complex was investigated.