Synthesis, antimicrobial activity, structural and spectral characterization and DFT calculations of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Pd(II) complexes of 4-amino-5-pyrimidinecarbonitrile

•Synthesis of Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+ and Pd2+ 4-amino-5-pyrimidinecarbonitrile complexes (APC).•Molar conductance and spectroscopic studies favors non-electrolytic [M(APC)2Cl2] complexes.•Bidentate APC was observed for all complexes except Pd(II) where APC act as a monodentate ligand.•DFT geometry optimization at 6-31G(d) basis set except for Pd where LanL2DZ were chosen.

Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Pd(II) complexes of 4-amino-5-pyrimidinecarbonitrile (APC) have been synthesized and characterized using elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility, mass spectrometry, infrared (4000–200 cm−1), UV–Visible (200–1100 nm), 1H NMR and ESR spectroscopy as well as TGA analysis. The molar conductance measurements in DMSO imply non-electrolytic complexes, formulated as [M(APC)2Cl2] where M = Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Pd(II). The infrared spectra of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes indicate a bidentate type of bonding for APC through the exocyclic amino and adjacent pyrimidine nitrogen as donors whereas APC coordinated to Pd(II) ion as a monodentated ligand via a pyrimidine nitrogen donor. The magnetic measurements and the electronic absorption spectra support distorted octahedral geometries for Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes however a square planar complex was favored for the Pd(II) complex (C2h skeleton symmetry). In addition, we carried out B3LYP and ω-B97XD geometry optimization at 6-31G(d) basis set except for Pd(II) where we implemented LanL2DZ/6-31G(d) combined basis set. The computational results favor all trans geometrical isomers where amino N, pyrimidine N and Cl are trans to each other (structure 1). Finally, APC and its divalent metal ion complexes were screened for their antibacterial activity, and the synthesized complexes were found to be more potent antimicrobial agents than APC against one or more microbial species.

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