This study investigates chromotropism of newly synthesized 3,3'-(ethane-1,2-diylbis(benzylazanediyl))dipropanamide copper(II) perchlorate complex. The compound was structurally characterized by physico-chemical and spectroscopic methods. X-ray crystallography of the complex showed that the copper atom achieved a distorted square pyramidal environment through coordination of two amine N atoms and two O atoms of the amide moieties. The pH effect on the visible absorption spectrum of the complex was studied which functions as pH-induced “off–on–off” switches through protonation and deprotonation of amide moieties along with the Cu–O to Cu–N bond rearrangement at room temperature. The complex was also observed to show solvatochromism and ionochromism. The distinct solution color changes mainly associated with hemilability of the amide groups. The solvatochromism of the complex was investigated with different solvent parameter models using stepwise multiple linear regression method. The results suggested that the basicity power of the solvent has a dominant contribution to the shift of the d–d absorption band of the complex. Density functional theory, DFT calculations were performed in order to study the electronic structure of the complex, the relative stabilities of the Cu-N/Cu-O isomers, and to understand the nature of the halochromism processes taking place. DFT computational results buttressed the experimental observations indicating that in the natural pH (5.8) the Cu-O isomer is more stable than its linkage isomer and conversely in alkaline aqueous solution.
