New azomethine compounds of 2-(N-tosylamino)benzaldehyde or 5-chloro-2-(N-tosylamino)benzaldehyde and the corresponding chlorine-substituted anilines, zinc(II) complexes based on them have been synthesized. The structures of azomethines and their complexes were determined by elemental analysis, IR, 1H NMR, X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. It is found that all ZnL2 complexes have a tetrahedral structure according to XAFS and X-ray diffraction data. The photoluminescent properties of azomethines and zinc complexes in methylene chloride solution and in solid form have been studied. It is shown that the photoluminescence quantum yields of solid samples of the complexes are an order of magnitude higher compared to the solutions and range from 11.34% to 48.3%. The thermal properties of Zn(II) complexes were determined by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry. The TGA curves of all the compounds suggest their high thermal stability up to temperatures higher than 290 °C. The electrochemical properties of all complexes were investigated by the cyclic voltammetry method. The multilayered devices ITO/PEDOT:PSS/NPD/Zn complex/ TPBI/LiF/Al with wide electroluminescence (EL) color range spanning the range from bluish-green (494 nm) to green (533 nm) and the high values of brightness, current and power efficiency were fabricated. The biological activity of azomethines and zinc complexes has been studied. In the case of complexes, the protistocidal activity of the zinc complex with azomethine of 5-chloro-2-(N-tosylamino)benzaldehyde with 4-chloroaniline was two times higher than the activity of the reference drug toltrazuril.
Keywords: azomethines; biological activity; electroluminescence; photoluminescence; zinc(II) complexes.