Rare coordination behavior of triethanolamine ligand in [Cu(H3tea)2](3,4-dimethoxycinnamate)2·2H2O: Synthesis, characterization, single crystal X-ray structure determination, Hirshfeld calculation and molecular docking studies

•Ioinc sceond sphere;[Cu(H3tea)2](3,4-DMC)2·2H2O complex reported for the first time.•Rare coordination behavior of triethanolamine ligand in metal-carboxylates.•Structure was unambigously determined for first time.•Predominant role of non-covalent interactions through packing and theoretical way was established.•Interaction energy was calculated with DFT/B3LYP and value was estimated 32.7 KJ. mol−1.•Molecular docking analyses revealed the potency of this complex as antimicrobial and anticancer agent.