Synthesis, spectral studies, and antimicrobial activity of binary and ternary Cu(II), Ni(II), and Fe(III) complexes of new hexadentate Schiff bases derived from 4,6-diacetylresorcinol and amino acids

Two new hexadentate N2O4 donor Schiff bases, H4L1 and H4L2, were synthesized by condensation of 4,6-diacetylresorcinol with glycine and alanine, respectively. The structures of the ligands were elucidated by elemental analyses, IR, 1H NMR, electronic, and mass spectra. Reactions of the Schiff bases with copper(II), nickel(II), and iron(III) nitrates in 1 : 2 molar ratio gave binuclear metal complexes and, in the presence of 8-hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ) or 1,10-phenanthroline (Phen) as secondary ligands (L′), mixed-ligand complexes in two molar ratios 1 : 2 : 2 and 1 : 2 : 1 (L1/L2 : M : L′). The complexes were characterized by elemental and thermal analyses, IR, electronic, mass, and ESR spectral studies, as well as conductivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The spectroscopic data reveal that the Schiff-base ligands were dibasic or tetrabasic hexadentate ligands. The coordination sites with the metal ions are two azomethine nitrogens, two oxygens of phenolic groups, and two oxygens of carboxylic groups. Copper(II) complexes were octahedral and square planar while nickel(II) and iron(III) complexes were octahedral. The Schiff bases, H4L1 and H4L2, and some of their metal complexes showed antibacterial activity towards Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes) and Gram-negative (Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas phaseolicola) bacteria and antifungal activity towards the fungi Fusarium oxysporium and Aspergillus fumigatus.