LAUSR

Abstract Coordination of the ligands derived from benzimidazole with Cr(III) led to the formation of new fluorescent Cr (III) complexes. The structures of the new complexes were established by spectral, analytical data and Job’s method and an octahedral geometry was proposed for the complexes. Also, the DFT methods were employed to gain a deeper insight into geometry and spectral properties of the new Cr (III) complexes. The DFT-calculated vibrational modes of Cr(III) complexes are in good agreement with the experimental values, confirming suitability of the optimized geometries for the complexes. Fluorescent ligands and chromium complexes were spectrally characterized by UV–Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. Results revealed that Cr(III) complexes generate fluorescence in dilute solution of DMSO. Calculated electronic absorption spectra were also provided by time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) method. The new complexes exhibited potent antibacterial activity against a panel of strains of Gram negative bacterial and Gram positive species and their MIC was also determined. Two strains of Gram positive and two strains of Gram negative bacteria.