Optically active cobalt(II) and copper(II) complexes with tetradentate Schiff bases derived from (N,N′)-(1R,2R)-(-)-cyclohexylenediamine and salicylaldehyde, 2-hydroxynaphthaldehyde or 2-hydroxyacetophenone

The Schiff bases obtained from (1R,2R)-1,2-cyclohexanediamine and salicylaldehyde, 2-hydroxynaphthaldehyde or 2-hydroxyacetophenone have been used as ligands for copper(II) and cobalt(II). The coordination compounds have been studied by u.v.-vis. absorption and by circular dichroism spectroscopy in solution. The complexes are four-coordinated in a slightly distorted square-planar geometry. The distortion from planarity is a main factor influencing the chiral surroundings of the metal ion. The d-d and c.t. transitions are consistent with the observed distortion which arises from intramolecular interactions between substituents at the Schiff base imine carbon and hydrogens of the cyclohexylene ring. Distortion is more pronounced in Co-II than in Cu-II complexes. In the Schiff base chelates the cyclohexane ring is trans-fused to the central chelate ring, forming a rigid structure in which the chelate ring is locked stereospecifically in the lambda conformation.