Synthesis, Characterization, and Catecholase Mimic Activity of a New 1D Cu(II) Polymer Constructed from Iminodiacetate

In this work, we report the synthesis of one-dimensional copper(II) coordination polymer [Cu(ida)(H₂O)₂]_n(1) (H₂ida = iminodiacetic acid). The polymer is characterized by different spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, EPR, UV-visible, luminescence, TGA, and PXRD) along with the single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis (SCXRD). The SCXRD study shows that 1 crystallizes in an orthorhombic system with the Pbca space group and adopts a distorted octahedral coordination geometry. 1 possesses a 1D chain structure further packed into 2D supramolecular architectures by O…H interactions. The FTIR spectrum of 1 ascertains the binding modes of the ligands. The EPR spectral analysis shows an isotropic signal at g = 2.09, indicating a Jahn-Teller distortion of the Cu²⁺ (d⁹) ion. Further, 1 exhibits a catecholase-like activity in methanol. It can easily oxidize the 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol (3,5-DTBC) substrate to its respective quinone. The polymer shows a significant catalytic activity with K_cat = 214.66 h⁻¹.