Molecular Structure and Antimicrobial Activity of a Luminescent Dinuclear Silver(I) Complex of Phenyl-bis(2-pyridyl)phosphine

Phenyl bis(2-pyridyl)phosphine [PhP(2-py)2] and its silver nitrate complex of formula [Ag2(μ-(PhP(2-py)2)2(NO3)2] (1) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and computational studies. The silver(I) complex 1 with a 1:1 metal-ligand molar ratio is dinuclear cluster with silver atoms in same environments. Biological studies, carried out in vitro against wide range of gram positive and gram negative bacteria, have shown that the free [PhP(2-py)2] ligand and its silver complex show distinct differences in the biological properties.