Synthesis, characterization, and computational study of a new dimethoxy-chalcone

Chalcones are an important class of medicinal compounds and are known for taking part in various biological activities as in anti-inflammatory, anti-leishmania, antimitotic, and antiviral. Chemically, chalcones consist of open-chain flavonoids in which the two aromatic rings are joined by a three-carbon α,β-unsaturated carbonyl system. The wide action spectrum has attracted our attention to synthesize, crystallize, and characterize the dimethoxy-chalcone C18H18O3. Aiming to understand the process of crystal lattice stabilization, a combination of technique has been used including X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and computational molecular modeling. The theoretical calculations were carried out by the density functional method (DFT) with the M06-2X functional, with the 6-311+G(d,p) basis set. The vibrational wavenumbers were calculated and the scaled values were compared with experimental FT-IR spectrum. The intermolecular interactions were quantified and intercontacts in the crystal structure were analyzed using Hirshfeld surfaces. Bond distances and angles described by the X-ray diffraction and theoretical calculation are very similar. The C-H….O contacts contributing to assemble the supramolecular architecture are also responsible for the molecular structure assembly.