Synthesis, X-ray crystallography, spectroscopic and in vitro antimicrobial studies of a new Cu(II) complex of trichloroacetic acid and imidazole

Cu(II) complex with trichloroacetic acid and imidazole have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, Uv–Vis, FTIR and single crystal X-ray crystallographic analysis. The compound was synthesized through green synthetic route by simply grinding and dissolving the homogenous mixture of the three components in distilled water at room temperature. The newly synthesized Cu(II) complex crystallized in monoclinic crystal system with C2/c space group. The Cu is in a square planar milieu formed by oxygen atoms from four trichloroacetato ligands. The chlorine atoms are disordered. The imidazole molecules are not directly bonded to the Cu but hydrogen bonding exist between the imidazole and the Cu(II) tetratrichloroacetato complex. The Cu(II) complex shows a significant activity when tested against selected bacteria and fungi compared to its parent ligands.