Synthesis, crystal structures, molecular docking and urease inhibition studies of Ni(II) and Cu(II) Schiff base complexes

[Ni(L)2] 1 and [Cu(L)2] 2 [HL = 2-((E)-(2-methoxyphenylimino)methyl)-4,6-dichlorophenol] Schiff base complexes have been successfully synthesized and were characterized by FT-IR, UV–Vis, fluorescence spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The crystal structures of the two complexes were determined through X-ray crystallography. Its inhibitory activity against Helicobacter pylori urease was evaluated in vitro and showed strong inhibitory activity against H. pylori urease compared with acetohydroxamic acid (IC50 = 42.12 μmolL−1), which is a positive reference. A docking analysis using the AutoDock 4.0 program could explain the inhibitory activity of the complex against urease.