Metal complexes of unsaturated polycarbonyl compounds derived from benzoyl acetone and aromatic aldehydes

Condensation of aromatic aldehydes with benzoyl acetone under specified conditions yielded two series of polycarbonyl compounds in which the keto group is attached to olefinic linkage. Spectral and analytical data revealed the formation of an unsaturated triketone from pyridine-3- carbaldehyde and unsaturated diketone from furfural, salicylaldehyde and 2- hydroxynaphthaldehyde. Analytical, IR, 1H NMR and mass spectral data suggest neutral bidentate coordination for the unsaturated triketone with Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions. In the [ML2] complexes of the unsaturated diketones, the intramolecularly hydrogen bonded enol proton is replaced by the metal ion.