Syntheses, crystal structures, and some spectroscopic properties of zinc(II) complexes with N2O2 ligands derived from m-phenylenediamine and m-aminobenzylamine

The reaction of bis(salicylidene)-m-phenylenediamine with zinc(II) ion affords a 2 : 2 dinuclear zinc (II) complex formulated as [Zn-2(L-1)(2)]. A similar 2 : 2 dinuclear zinc(II) complex, [Zn-2(L-2)(2)], can be obtained by reaction of bis(salicylidene)-m-aminobenzylamine with zinc(II) ion. These two dinuclear complexes slightly differ in their crystal structures, especially coordination environments around the zinc(II) centers, depending on the dissimilar flexibilities of the two ligands. The differences between the two complexes are reflected in their diffuse reflectance and photoluminescence behaviors.