Well designed iridium-phosphinite complexes: Biological assays, electrochemical behavior and density functional...

Area of Science:

• Organometallic Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Computational Chemistry

Background:

• Ferrocene-based phosphinite iridium complexes were synthesized.
• These complexes were characterized using spectroscopic methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the electrochemical properties and potential applications in organic memory devices.
• To evaluate the biological activities including antioxidant, antimicrobial, and DNA interactions.
• To understand the electronic transitions and chemical descriptors through theoretical calculations.

Main Methods:

• Cyclic voltammetry for electrochemical studies.
• Immobilization on TiO2-modified ITO electrodes for memory device fabrication.
• Chronoamperometry (CA) and open-circuit potential amperometry (OCPA) for memory function verification.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT/CAM-B3LYP) calculations for theoretical investigations.
• Antioxidant, antimicrobial, DNA binding, and DNA cleavage assays.

Main Results:

• Complexes showed tunable HOMO/LUMO levels and electrochemical properties.
• Memory functions were successfully demonstrated using complex-based substrates.
• Complex 2 exhibited high radical scavenging activity (67.5%).
• Complexes displayed antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
• All complexes showed DNA binding activity, with complexes 1, 2, and 8 being particularly effective.

Conclusions:

• The synthesized iridium complexes possess valuable electrochemical and electronic properties for memory applications.
• These complexes exhibit significant biological activities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, and DNA binding capabilities.
• DFT calculations provide insights into the electronic structure and transitions, complementing experimental findings.