Synthesis,Spectroscopic and Electrochemical Studies of Novel Transition Metal Complexes with Quadridentate Schiff Base

A novel quadridentate, N₂O₂ type Schiff base, synthesized from 1,4‐bis‐(o‐aminophenoxy)butane and 2‐hydroxynaphthalin‐1‐carbaldehyde, forms stable complexes with transition metal ions such as Co(II), Cu(II) and Ni(II) in DMF. Microanalytical data, elemental analysis, magnetic measurements, UV‐visible and IR‐spectra as well as conductance measurements were used to confirm the structures. Electrochemical measurements show that metal complexes undergo quasi‐reversible one‐electron redox processes. The voltammetric results also revealed that the CuL complex has the highest electron transfer rate indicating that both the Cu(II) and Cu(I) forms appear in a similar planar configuration, so the electron transfer does not require larger reorganization of the complex.