A trinuclear centrosymmetric zinc(II) Schiff base complex: Exploration of its photocatalytic and phosphatase mimicking activity

A new trinuclear zinc(II) complex, [Zn(mu(1,1)-N-3)(2){Zn(L)(N-3)}(2)] {HL = [2-((3-(dimethylamino)propylimino)methyl)-6-ethoxyphenol]} has been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography. The excellent phosphatase mimicking activity {k(cat) 176 at h(-1) 298 K} on disodium 4-nitrophenylphosphate (4-NPP) hexahydrate substrate has been exhibited by the complex. Phosphatase mimicking activity has been evaluated by monitoring the increase in absorbance at similar to 425 nm (spectrophotometrically) indicating gradual release of p-nitrophenolate by the hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenylphosphate ester with time. The complex has also been found to be efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation.