Catalytic and antimicrobial activities of new ruthenium(II) unsymmetrical Schiff base complexes

Hexa-coordinated ruthenium(II) complexes of the type Ru(CO)(PPh₃)(Z)(L)] Z = PPh₃, pyridine (py) or piperidine (pip); L = anion of the Schiff base] have been prepared by reacting RuHCl(CO)(PPh₃)₂(Z)] with tridentate Schiff bases derived by condensing anthranilic acid with acetylacetone, salicylaldehyde, o-vanillin and o-hydroxyacetophenone. The complexes were characterised by analytical and spectral (i.r., electronic, ¹H- and ³¹P-n.m.r.) data, and were found to be effective catalysts for oxidising primary alcohols to aldehydes in the presence of N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMO) as co-oxidant. The Schiff bases and their ruthenium(II) complexes show growth inhibitory activity against pathogenic fungi Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium oxysporium and Rhizoctonia solani.