Unsaturated Polycarbonyl Compounds and their Metal Complexes

A new series of unsaturated polycarbonyl compounds in which the keto group attached to olefinic linkage has been synthesized by the reaction of acetoacetanilide and aromatic aldehydes under specified conditions. The existence of these compounds predominantly in the intramolecularly hydrogen bonded enol form has been well demonstrated from their IR, 1H NMR and mass spectral data. Details on the formation of their complexes with Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) and their nature of bonding are discussed on the basis of analytical, IR, 1H NMR and mass spectral data.