A Copper(II) Chloride Coordination Compound with 2-Phenyl Ligand: Synthesis, Characterization, Crystal Structure, HSA, and DFT Studies

Abstract

Under ultrasound irradiation in an ethanol solvent, a new coordination complex of Cu(II) was successfully synthesized within a 10-min timeframe through the treatment of an imidazole-based ligand (PDI) with a copper-containing salt. The formation of the complex was verified through elemental (CHN) analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy. Additionally, the supramolecular assembly and packing of atoms in the crystalline units of the copper complex were elucidated using single-crystal X-ray diffraction method. The synthesized compound exhibits an ionic nature, featuring a copper(II) cation inside the coordination sphere and a chloride anion outside of the coordination sphere. The coordination environment around the copper cation is achieved through the bonding of the N-atom of the non-protonated PDI ligands and a chloride ion. To maintain a neutral charge, a second chloride ion serves as a counterion. The bond angles surrounding the Cu(II) ion showed a somewhat deformed square planar geometry of the complex. The non-covalent intermolecular interactions were executed by Hirshfeld surface analysis (HSA), while the theoretical studies were conducted using DFT employing the B3LYP/Def2-TZVP level of theory. The consistency between the theoretical findings and experimental data attested to the reliability of the theoretical conclusions.