Silver(I) complexes with nitrile ligands: New materials with versatile applications

• Published in: Applied organometallic chemistry Vol. 37; no. 10
• Main Authors: Gutmańska, Karolina, Szweda, Piotr, Daszkiewicz, Marek, Mazur, Tomasz, Szaciłowski, Konrad, Ciborska, Anna, Dołęga, Anna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-10-2023
• Subjects: antimicrobial activity; Chemistry; conductivity; Coordination polymers; Electrical properties; Ligands; nitriles; Nitrogen dioxide; Silver; silver(I) complexes; Structural stability; Thermal stability; X‐ray crystal structures
• ISSN: 0268-2605; 1099-0739
• DOI: 10.1002/aoc.7207

In the present study, the structure, thermal stability, conductive properties, and antimicrobial activity of silver(I) complexes with nitrile ligands were investigated. For the construction of the materials, 2‐cyanopyridine (2‐cpy), 4‐cyanopyridine (4‐cpy), 1,2‐dicyanobenzene (1,2‐dcb), and 1,3‐dicyanobenzene (1,3‐dcb) were used in addition to the silver nitrite and nitrate. Four new compounds were isolated and structurally characterized: one molecular complex [Ag4(1,2‐dcb)4(NO3)4], two 1‐D coordination polymers [Ag(2‐cpy)2(NO2)]∞, [Ag2(1,3‐dcb)2(NO3)2]∞, and one 3‐D coordination polymer [Ag(4‐cpy)(NO2)]∞. The results indicate that the nitrile complexes display good antimicrobial properties against the tested bacterial and fungal strains. The presence of weakly coordinating CN groups increases the release of silver ions into the bacterial and yeast cell environments. Moreover, these materials exhibit unusual electrical properties in thin‐layer devices. On the other hand, the nitrite and nitrate counterions give rise to the low thermal stability of the complexes.
The complexes of silver nitrate and nitrite with organic nitriles show very good antimicrobial and antifungal properties, connected with the facile release of silver ions. Along with the antimicrobial activity, interesting electrical phenomena related to the electronic structure of organic ligands have been observed.