Abstract A new VHPO mimicking oxovanadium (IV) complex [VO (sal-l-val)(phen)](sal-l-val= Schiff base derived from salicylaldehyde and l-valine; phen= 1, 10-phenanthroline) has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, UV–vis, IR spectroscopy, ESI- MS, EPR and single crystal XRD studies. The structural and spectral parameters were further supported using DFT calculations. The complex was found to exhibit vanadium ...