Influence of the Nature of Crosslinking Agents on the Catalase‐like Activity of Polystyrene‐Supported Schiff Base Metal Complexes

Metal complexation behavior of Schiff base function supported on 2 mol% DVB‐, EGDMA‐, BDDMA‐, HDODA‐, and TTEGDA‐crosslinked polystyrenes and the catalase‐like activity of the resulting polymer–metal complexes were followed. The polymeric ligands and metal complexes were characterized by IR, UV, EPR, and SEM analyses. The catalytic activities of these metal complexes were investigated in the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide as a model reaction. The Fe(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II) complexations of the various crosslinked systems varied with the nature of the crosslinking in the polystyrene backbone. The metal uptake followed the order: Cu(II) > Co(II) > Ni(II) > Fe(III) > Fe(II). Among the various metal complexes, Co(II) and Cu(II) complexes are efficient for showing the catalase‐like activity. The metal ion complexation and catalytic activity decreased with increasing hydrophilicity of the crosslinking agent in the polymer support.