Complexes of 1-(2-R(F, CH3, Cl)-phenyl)-1,4-dihydro-5H-tetrazole-5-thiones with cadmium chloride: Synthesis, molecular, crystal structures and computational investigation approach

New complex compounds (I) - (IV) were synthesized by the reaction of 1-(2-fluorofluorophenyl) -1,4-dihydro-5H-tetrazole-5-thione (HL1), 1-(2-methylphenyl)-1,4-dihydro-5H-tetrazole-5-thione (HL2) and 1-(2-chlorochlorophenyl)-1,4-dihydro-5H-tetrazole-5-thione (HL3) with cadmium chloride. By X-ray diffraction analysis, molecular and crystal structures of complexes (I), (II), (III) and (IV) are determined. (CIF files CCDC № 2,003,797 (I), 1,993,454 (II), 2,151,359 (III), 2,098,997 (IV)). Hirshfeld surface analysis, frontier orbital analysis, atomic charges, electrostatic potential, nonlinear optical properties, and natural bond analysis of all three‑cadmium metal-organic complexes were discussed. A molecular docking study was used to investigate compounds' binding and interactions with DNA molecules, which predicted compound I as the best binder at the DNA minor groove and demonstrated closed distance interactions. In a long run of molecular dynamics simulations, the compound I complex was also depicted with good dynamics. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.