Synthesis, Structural Elucidation, Supramolecular Assembly Exploration and DFT Study of a New Ketohydrazone Derivative

Biologically active ketohydrazone derivative named as 2-(2-(4-fluorphenyl)hydrazono)-1,3-diphenylpropane-1,3-dione was synthesized based on the reaction of 1,3-diphenyl-1,3-propanedione with [Formula: see text]-fluoroaniline. The [Formula: see text]crystal structure was determined via single crystal XRD which showed that the benzoyl groups of the structure are inclined at 84.8 (1) relative to each other and the supramolecular assembly is stabilized by N–H[Formula: see text]O, C–H[Formula: see text]O, C–H[Formula: see text][Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text] interactions. Hirshfeld surface analysis was performed for the further exploration of the intermolecular interactions in terms of interatomic contacts. The dispersion interactions make a substantial impact on the total interaction energy of fragments during crystal packing. The geometric properties of the compound are similar to the experimental findings. The bonding nature and electronic charge transport properties have been investigated using the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. The [Formula: see text] and n [Formula: see text] are observed as the most common orbital interactions in the present compound with notable stabilization energy. The molecular electrostatic potential (MESP) study, along with the density of states analysis, further reveals the reactive sites and electronic structure. Furthermore, ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations were considered to monitor the thermodynamic stability and conformation analysis at 300 K.