Synthesis, characterization, antimicrobial and theoretical investigation of some new zinc halide complexes

Schiff base ligands are nitrogen analogue of aldehydes or ketones in which the carbonyl groups (C=O) have been replaced by an imine or azomethine groups. Schiff base compounds are widely used as pigments and dyes, catalysts, intermediates in organic synthesis and as polymer stabilizers .Schiff base compounds have also been shown to exhibit a broad range of biological activities including antifungal, antibacterial, antimalarial, anti-proliferative, antiinflammatory, antiviral, and antipyretic properties. The imine group present in Schiff base compounds has critical role in their biological activities [1-3]. In this work we report synthesis and characterization of some new zinc halide complexes formulated as ZnLX2 (X= Clˉ, Brˉ, Iˉ and L= Schiff base ligand). The Schiff base ligand was prepared by a condensation of chlorobenzaldehyde and 2-aminoethylethylenedianie in 2:1 molar ration in ethanol for 3h at room temperature. The zinc complexes were synthesized by direct reaction of the ligand and zinc salt in 1:1 molar ratio in ethanol. Furthermore the ligand and its complexes have been screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activities and the data reveal that the complexes have higher activity than the free ligand. Finally, optimized structures, molecular parameters and vibrational frequencies were calculated at the B3LYP/LANL2DZ level of theory.