Base Catalysed Hydrolysis of Schiff Base Iron(II) Iodide Complexes

Transition metal complexes, particularly iron-Schiff base complexes, analogous to those of porphyrins are important for the catalytic asymmetric oxidation of alcohols and alkenes. These complexes have wide applicability in many fields of photo-, magneto- and electrochemistry. The base catalysed hydrolysis of some low spin Fe(II) complexes of Schiff base ligands like 2,6-diacetyl pyridine and Schiff base ligands derived from the condensation of 8-aminoquinoline with pyridine-2-aldehyde, acetylpyridine-2-aldehyde, and phenylpyridine-2-aldehyde is presented. Kinetics of the base catalysed hydrolysis of the investigated Fe(II) complexes were studied in water and in various water/methanol ratios, describing the solvent effect on the reactivity of the complex cations. The above factors are essential for the application of analytical chemistry in the determination of iron(II) in the natural products.