Syntheses and Crystal Structures of Copper(II) and Nickel(II) Complexes With Schiff Bases: Nickel(II) Induced Cleavage of the C–N Bonds

Abstract

Three centrosymmetric mononuclear copper(II) and nickel(II) complexes, [Cu(MMP)2] (1), [Ni(IMP)2] (2), and [Ni(IEP)2] (3) (MMP = 5-methoxy-2-[(2-morpholin-4-ylethylimino)methyl] phenolate, IMP = 2-iminomethyl-5-methoxyphenolate, IEP = 2-(1-iminoethyl)phenolate), have been prepared from similar tridentate Schiff bases derived from 2-morpholin-4-ylethylamine with 4-methoxysalicylaldehyde and 2-acetylphenol, respectively. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectra, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The Cu and Ni atoms in the complexes are in square planar coordination. The Ni2+ ion may play an important role for the cleavage of the C–N bonds of the Schiff base ligands.