Molecular and electronic properties of Schiff bases derived from different aniline derivatives: density functional theory study

Herein, five Schiff base molecules derived from para-nitrobenzaldehyde and different aniline derivatives are studied theoretically from the structure and energy perspectives. Density functional theory DFT method with 6-31+g(d,p) basis set is utilized to determine the optimized structure with the lowest energy in terms of the internal coordinates such as bond lengths, bond angles, and torsion angles. The study includes investigating the electronic indicators of the title molecules, such as frontier molecular orbital, electron affinity, ionization potential, and other parameters to predict the sites of reactivity and obtain an insight of the main properties of the molecules. Moreover, the electrostatic potential maps were determined and illustrated for the studied compounds to investigate the reactivity of charges on the surface of the molecules whether being of an electrophilic or nucleophilic nature. The study aims to examine the effect of changing the functional group in para-location of the aniline moieties on the molecular and geometrical properties of the molecules.