Mercury(II) cyanide complexes with alkyldiamines: solid-state/solution NMR, computational, and antimicrobial studies

Abstract

Mercury cyanide complexes of alkyldiamines (1–6), [Hg(L)(CN)₂] (where L = en (1,2-diaminoethane), pn (1,3-diaminopropane), N-Me-en, N, N′-Me₂-en, N, N′-Et₂-en, and N, N′-ipr₂-en), have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N solution NMR in DMSO-d₆, as well as ¹³C, ¹⁵N, and ¹⁹⁹Hg solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Complexes 1 and 2 have been studied computationally, built and optimized by GAUSSIAN03 using DFT at B3LYP level with LanL2DZ basis set. Binding modes of en and bn (where bn = 1,4-diaminobutane) toward Hg(CN)₂ are completely different. Complexes with en and pn show chelating binding to Hg(II), while bn behaves as a bridging ligand to form a polymeric structure, [Hg(CN)₂-bn]_∞ [B.A. Al-Maythalony, M. Fettouhi, M.I.M. Wazeer, A.A. Isab. Inorg. Chem. Commun., 12, 540 (2009).]. The solution ¹³C NMR of the complexes demonstrates a slight shift of the −C≡N (0.9 to 2 ppm) and −C–NH₂ (0.25 to 6 ppm) carbon resonances, while the other resonances are relatively unaffected. ¹⁵N labeling studies have shown involvement of alkyldiamine ligands in coordination to the metal. The principal components of the ¹³C, ¹⁵N, and ¹⁹⁹Hg shielding tensors have been determined from solid-state NMR data. Antimicrobial activity studies show that the complexes exhibit higher antibacterial activities toward various microorganisms than Hg(CN)₂.

Keywords:

• Mercury cyanide complexes
• Solid-state NMR
• ¹³C, ¹⁵N, ¹⁹⁹Hg NMR

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the King Fahd Univ. of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) Research Committee under project number IN 100039.