5,5-diethylbarbiturate complexes of silver with 2,2′-bipyridine and 3-(2-pyridyl)propanol:: Syntheses, crystal structures, spectroscopic, thermal and antimicrobial activity studies

Two silver 5,5-diethylbarbiturate (barb) complexes with 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) and 3-(2-pyridyl) propanol (pypr), [Ag(barb)(bpy)] (1) and [Ag(barb)(pypr)] (2), have been prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. Both complexes crystallize in the triclinic space group P (1) over bar with Z = 2. The barb ligand in 1 is N-coordinated and the bpy ligand acts as a bichelating ligand leading to an AgN3 tricoordination. Crystals of 1 feature a three-dimensional network based on N-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonding, pi(bpy)center dot center dot center dot pi(bpy), C-H center dot center dot center dot pi(bpy) and pi(bpy)-Ag interactions. In 2, the pypr and barb ligands behave as monodentate ligands through their N atoms, forming a distorted linear AgN2 coordination. Molecules of 2 are doubly bridged by N-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds and further connected via O-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds and aromatic pi(pypr)center dot center dot center dot pi(pypr) stacking interactions into a supramolecular network. Both complexes exhibit similar thermal decomposition behavior in air. The first stage corresponds to removal of the co-ligands such as bpy or pypr while the degradation of the barb moiety occurs at higher temperatures to give Ag2O. Like the barb, bpy and pypr ligands, 2 does not show any significant antimicrobial activity, but 1 is active against bacteria and fungi.