Preparation and spectroscopic studies of Fe(II), Ru(II), Pd(II) and Zn(II) complexes of Schiff base containing terephthalaldehyde and their transfer hydrogenation and Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction

This study describes synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and catalytic activities of Fe(II), Ru(II), Pd(II) and Zn(II) complexes with a novel Schiff base ligand (L) derived from methyl 2-amino-5,5,7,7-tetramethyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[b] thiophene-3-carboxylate and terephthalaldehyde. We used spectroscopic techniques including IR, UV-Vis, H-1-NMR, C-13-NMR, elemental analysis and also mass analysis and magnetic susceptibility measurements to identify the products. The Pd(II) complex was used as a potential catalyst for Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction of some aryl halides under optimized conditions. The effect of various bases such as NaOH, KOH, and KOBut was investigated in transfer hydrogenation (TH) of ketones by isopropyl alcohol as the hydrogen source. Ru(II) and Pd(II) complexes showed catalytic activity while Zn(II) and Fe(II) metal complexes failed to do that.