Synthesis, crystal structure, spectroscopic and density functional theory (DFT) study of N-[3-anthracen-9-yl-1-(4-bromo-phenyl)-allylidene]-N-benzenesulfonohydrazine

•N-benzenesulfonohydrazine has been synthesized.•Comparative theoretical and experimental geometric and spectroscopic characterization.•Solvent effect on UV–Vis spectra was studied.•MEP, Mulliken charge analysis and NPA confirm (C–H⋯O) hydrogen bonding.

N-[3-anthracen-9-yl-1-(4-bromo-phenyl)-allylidene]-N-benzenesulfonohydrazine has been synthesized and characterized by various spectroscopic techniques including FT-IR, UV–vis, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR spectroscopy, and the structure was unequivocally confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The compound crystallized in monoclinic system with P21/n space group, and adopted cis-geometry around the azomethine CN double bond. The X-ray crystal structure revealed that the intermolecular packing was stabilized by C–H⋯O type hydrogen bonding interaction, whereas NH was not involved in hydrogen bonding due to steric hindrance. Absorption wavelength was studied by scanning UV–vis. absorption spectrum in different solvents to explore excited state stability of the molecule in polar solvent. Density functional theory calculations were performed at B3LYP/6-31G (d, p) level in order to compare the experimental results with the theoretical results. The simulated molecular electrostatic potential (MEP), Mulliken charges and NPA (natural population analysis) also confirmed the presence of specific intermolecular hydrogen bonding (C–H⋯O). In addition natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis (intra and inter molecular bonding and interaction among bonds), frontier molecular orbital analysis (electronic properties) and first hyperpolarizability analysis (nonlinear optical response) were simulated at B3LYP/6-31G (d, p) level of theory.

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