novel [5-hdroxy-3-phenyl-5-(trifluoromethyl)-4,5-dihydro-1𝐻-pyrazol-1-yl](phenyl)methanone: synthesis, characterization and computational analysis

The development of ligands with tailored electronic and structural properties is vital for applications in coordination chemistry, materials science, and medicinal chemistry. in this study, the synthesis and characterization of a new pyrazoline-based ligand, (5-hydroxy-3-phenyl-5-(trifluoromethyl)-4,5-dihydro-1h-pyrazol-1-yl)(phenyl)methanone), were reported, which was obtained through the condensation of benzoyltrifluoroacetone and benzohydrazide in ethanol under reflux. its structure was confirmed by single-crystal x-ray diffraction and further supported by ir spectroscopy. dft calculations at the b3lyp/6-31g(d) level were performed to optimize the molecular geometry, determine frontier molecular orbitals, and compute global reactivity descriptors. the homo–lumo gap (4.56 ev), dipole moment (1.87 d), and electrophilicity index (3.94 ev) indicate moderate stability and potential for coordination. mulliken charge analysis revealed distinct nucleophilic and electrophilic regions, aligning with the molecule’s reactive behavior. hirshfeld surface analysis showed that h···f and h···h contacts dominate intermolecular interactions, supporting the solid-state packing and stability. theoretical ir spectra exhibited good agreement with experimental data, validating the optimized structure. to evaluate antifungal potential, molecular docking was performed against fusarium solani (pdb id: 3qpc), candida albicans (pdb id: 4uym), and 5tz1 protein targets using arguslab. the ligand showed strong binding affinity, with the best docking score of –8.45 kcal/mol for 3qpc. key interactions included hydrogen bonding (asp165a, lys206a), π-cation (lys168a), and hydrophobic contacts (phe202a, ala209a). the combined experimental and computational investigation highlights the ligand’s promise for use in catalysis, optoelectronics, and bioactive molecule design. these results also support further exploration of related pyrazoline derivatives with tunable reactivity and multifunctional properties.