New five coordinated supramolecular structured cadmium complex as precursor for CdO nanoparticles: Synthesis, crystal structure, theoretical and 3D Hirshfeld surface analyses

In this paper, a combined experimental and theoretical study on a new CdLBr2 complex (L = N1-(2-bromobenzylidene)-N2-(2-((E)-(2-bromobenzylidene) amino)ethyl) ethane-1,2-diamine) synthesized via template method, is described. The crystal structure analysis of the complex indicates that, the Cd(II) ion is centered in a distorted square pyramidal space constructed by three iminic nitrogens of the ligand as well as two bromide anions. More analysis of crystal packing proposed a supramolecular structure stabilized by some non-covalent interactions such as Br center dot center dot center dot Br and X-H center dot center dot center dot Br (X = N and C) in solid state. Furthermore, 3D Hirshfeld surface analyses and DFT studies were applied for theoretical investigation of the complexes. Theoretical achievements were found in a good agreement with respect to the experimental data. To evaluate the nature of bonding and the strength of the intra and inter-molecular interactions a natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis on the complex structure was performed. Time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) was also applied to predict the electronic spectral data of the complex as compared with the experimental ones. CdLBr2 complex as nano-structure compound was also prepared under ultrasonic conditions and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). Finally, it was found that the cadmium complex can be used as a suitable precursor for preparation of CdO nanoparticles via calcination process at 600 degrees C under air atmosphere. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.