Structural Variation and Magneto-Structural Correlation in Two New Dinuclear Bis(µ2-Phenoxo)-Bridged CuII Schiff-Base Complexes: Catalytic Potential for the Peroxidative Oxidation of Cycloalkanes

Two new dinuclear bis(μ2-phenoxo)-bridged copper(ii) complexes [Cu(NCS)L1]2 (1) and [Cu(NCS)L2]2 (2) have been synthesized using two tridentate NNO-donor Schiff-base ligands, L1H (Me2N(CH2)3N=CHC6H3(OMe)(OH)) and L2H (Me2N(CH2)3N=C(CH3)C6H4(OH)), respectively. They have been characterized by elemental analyses, IR, UV-visible, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. X-Ray single-crystal structures reveal a central Cu2O2 core in each complex with an isothiocyanate ligand coordinated terminally to each metal centre. The coordination environments around the CuII ions in 1 and 2 are a distorted trigonal bipyramid and…