Quantum chemical investigation on complexation of palladium with iminopyridyl ligands: Structural,thermochemical, and electronic aspects

The main purpose of this research is to investigate computationally the structural, thermochemical and electronic properties in complexation process of dichloride {N-(5-methylthiophen-2-yl)methylidene]?2-(pyridine-2-yl)ethanamine-κ²N,N′}palladium(II) complex. In the first step, we have concentrated on comparative survey of ability of density functional theory (DFT) and also semi-empirical approaches to reproduce the crystal structure of palladium(II) complex. Comparison of our calculated structural parameters of aforementioned complex with the available crystallographical data reveals that both functionals (B3LYP and M06) can well-reproduce x-ray structure of the complex with a near accuracy while PM6-D2 semi-empirical calculated values are not in a reliable agreement with the crystallographical data.

In the next step, we have shown the thermodynamical superiority in using THF as a polar solventin complexation reaction via polarized continuum model (PCM) computations which is in confirmation with experimental observations. Additionally, the bond orders of some selected key bonds in C₁₃H₁₄N₂Sligand andPdCl₂(C₁₃H₁₄N₂S) complex have been evaluated comparatively to analyze the electronic behavior of coordination.

Finally, we focused on topological analysis of electron density function via quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) approach to explore the strength and nature of metal-ligand interactions on bond and ring critical points (BCPs).Strictly speaking, QTAIM calculations have been performed to determine the electronic density, its Laplacian and other electronic energy density indicators on some key BCPs to interpret the electronic features of complexation.