Local Coordination Geometry and Spin State in Novel FeIIComplexes with 2,6-Bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine-Type Ligands as Controlled by Packing Forces: Structural Correlations

Selective Pathway toward Heteroleptic Spin-Crossover Iron(II) Complexes with Pyridine-Based N-Donor Ligands

A new synthetic pathway is devised to selectively produce previously elusive heteroleptic iron(II) complexes of terpyridine and N,N'-disubstituted bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridines that stabilize the opposite spin states of the metal ion. Such a combination of the ligands in a series of the heteroleptic complexes induces the spin-crossover (SCO) not experienced by the homoleptic complexes of these ligands or shifts it to lower/higher temperatures respective to the SCO-active homoleptic complex. The midpoint temperatures of the resulting SCO span from ca. 200 K to the ambient temperature and beyond the highest temperature accessible by NMR spectroscopy and SQUID magnetometry. The proposed "one-pot" approach is applicable to other N-donor ligands to selectively produce heteroleptic complexes─including those inaccessible by alternative synthetic pathways─with highly tunable SCO behaviors for practical applications in sensing, switching, and multifunctional devices.

Solvatomorphs of Iron(II) Complex with N,N'-Disubstituted 2,6-Bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine with a Temperature-Induced Spin Transition in Solution

Abstract

The reaction of the tridentate ligand 4-(2,6-bis(5-tert-butyl-1-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)pyridin-4-yl)benzonitrile (L) with iron(II) salt gave the complex [Fe(L)2](BF4)2, which was isolated in a pure state and characterized by elemental analysis, NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction as two crystal polymorphs differing in the nature of the solvent molecule in the crystal (solvatomorphs I and II). According to the results of X-ray diffraction study (CCDC nos. 2104367 (I), 2104368 (II)), the iron(II) ion in these compounds occurs in different spin states and does not undergo a temperature-induced spin transition, which was previously observed for this complex in solution. The details of supramolecular organization of two solvatomorphs that prevent this transition were studied using the Hirshfeld surface analysis.

Co-crystallisation as a Modular Approach to the Discovery of Spin-Crossover Materials

Herein we present co-crystallisation as a strategy for materials discovery in the field of switchable spin crossover (SCO) systems. Using [Fe(3-bpp)2]·2A (where 3-bpp = 2,6-bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine, A = BF4- / PF6-)...

Room-Temperature Spin Crossover in a Solution of Iron(II) Complexes with N,N'-Disubstituted Bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridines

Here, we report a combined study of the effects of two chemical modifications to an N,N'-disubstituted bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine (3-bpp) and of different solvents on the spin-crossover (SCO) behavior in otherwise high-spin iron(II) complexes by solution NMR spectroscopy. The observed stabilization of the low-spin state by electron-withdrawing substituents in the two positions of the ligand that induce opposite electronic effects in SCO-active iron(II) complexes of isomeric bis(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridines (1-bpp) was previously hidden by NH functionalities in 3-bpp precluding the molecular design of SCO compounds with this family of ligands. With the recent SCO-assisting substituent design, the uncovered trends converged toward the first iron(II) complex of N,N'-disubstituted 3-bpp to undergo an almost complete SCO centered at room temperature in a less polar solvent of a high hydrogen-bond acceptor ability.

Optimization of crystal packing in semiconducting spin-crossover materials with fractionally charged TCNQ δ- anions (0 < δ < 1)

Co-crystallization of the prominent Fe(ii) spin-crossover (SCO) cation, [Fe(3-bpp)2]2+ (3-bpp = 2,6-bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine), with a fractionally charged TCNQ δ- radical anion has afforded a hybrid complex [Fe(3-bpp)2](TCNQ)3·5MeCN (1·5MeCN, where δ = -0.67). The partially desolvated material shows semiconducting behavior, with the room temperature conductivity σ RT = 3.1 × 10-3 S cm-1, and weak modulation of conducting properties in the region of the spin transition. The complete desolvation, however, results in the loss of hysteretic behavior and a very gradual SCO that spans the temperature range of 200 K. A related complex with integer-charged TCNQ- anions, [Fe(3-bpp)2](TCNQ)2·3MeCN (2·3MeCN), readily loses the interstitial solvent to afford desolvated complex 2 that undergoes an abrupt and hysteretic spin transition centered at 106 K, with an 11 K thermal hysteresis. Complex 2 also exhibits a temperature-induced excited spin-state trapping (TIESST) effect, upon which a metastable high-spin state is trapped by flash-cooling from room temperature to 10 K. Heating above 85 K restores the ground-state low-spin configuration. An approach to improve the structural stability of such complexes is demonstrated by using a related ligand 2,6-bis(benzimidazol-2'-yl)pyridine (bzimpy) to obtain [Fe(bzimpy)2](TCNQ)6·2Me2CO (4) and [Fe(bzimpy)2](TCNQ)5·5MeCN (5), both of which exist as LS complexes up to 400 K and exhibit semiconducting behavior, with σ RT = 9.1 × 10-2 S cm-1 and 1.8 × 10-3 S cm-1, respectively.

Spin-Crossover in Iron(II) Complexes of N,N′-Disubstituted 2,6-Bis(Pyrazol-3-yl)Pyridines: An Effect of a Distal Substituent in the 2,6-Dibromophenyl Group

A series of new bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridines (LR) N,N′-disubstituted by 4-functionalized 2,6-dibromophenyl groups have been synthesized to study the effect of a distal substituent on the spin-crossover (SCO) behaviour of the iron(II) complexes [Fe(LR)2](ClO4)2 by variable-temperature magnetometry, NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The SCO-assisting tendency of the substituents with different electronic and steric properties (i.e., the bromine atom and the methyl group) in the para-position of the 2,6-dibromophenyl group is discussed. Together with earlier reported SCO-active iron(II) complexes with N,N′-disubstituted bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridines, these new complexes open the way for this family of SCO compounds to emerge as an effective ‘tool’ in revealing structure–function relations, a prerequisite for successful molecular design of switchable materials for future breakthrough applications in sensing, switching, and memory devices.

Switching on thermal and light-induced spin crossover by desolvation of the [Fe(3-bpp)2](XO4)2·solvent (X = Cl, Re) compounds

Thermal desolvation is a very attractive method for post-synthetic modification of the physico-chemical properties of switchable materials. In this field of research, special attention is paid to the possibility of...

Interplay between spin crossover and proton migration along short strong hydrogen bonds

The iron(ii) salt [Fe(bpp)2](isonicNO)2·HisonicNO·5H2O (1) (bpp = 2,6-bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine; isonicNO = isonicotinate N-oxide anion) undergoes a partial spin crossover (SCO) with symmetry breaking at T 1 = 167 K to a mixed-spin phase (50% high-spin (HS), 50% low-spin (LS)) that is metastable below T 2 = 116 K. Annealing the compound at lower temperatures results in a 100% LS phase that differs from the initial HS phase in the formation of a hydrogen bond (HB) between two water molecules (O4W and O5W) of crystallisation. Neutron crystallography experiments have also evidenced a proton displacement inside a short strong hydrogen bond (SSHB) between two isonicNO anions. Both phenomena can also be detected in the mixed-spin phase. 1 undergoes a light-induced excited-state spin trapping (LIESST) of the 100% HS phase, with breaking of the O4W⋯O5W HB and the onset of proton static disorder in the SSHB, indicating the presence of a light-induced activation energy barrier for proton motion. This excited state shows a stepped relaxation at T 1(LIESST) = 68 K and T 2(LIESST) = 76 K. Photocrystallography measurements after the first relaxation step reveal a single Fe site with an intermediate geometry, resulting from the random distribution of the HS and LS sites throughout the lattice.

Spin State Behavior of A Spin-Crossover Iron(II) Complex with N,N′-Disubstituted 2,6-bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine: A Combined Study by X-ray Diffraction and NMR Spectroscopy

A series of three different solvatomorphs of a new iron(II) complex with N,N′-disubstituted 2,6-bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine, including those with the same lattice solvent, has been identified by X-ray diffraction under the same crystallization conditions with the metal ion trapped in the different spin states. A thermally induced switching between them, however, occurs in a solution, as unambiguously confirmed by the Evans technique and an analysis of paramagnetic chemical shifts, both based on variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy. The observed stabilization of the high-spin state by an electron-donating substituent contributes to the controversial results for the iron(II) complexes of 2,6-bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridines, preventing ‘molecular’ design of their spin-crossover activity; the synthesized complex being only the fourth of the spin-crossover (SCO)-active kind with an N,N′-disubstituted ligand.

Allosteric Spin Crossover Induced by Ligand-Based Molecular Alloying

The spin crossover (SCO) phenomenon represents a source of multistability at the molecular level, and dilution into a nonactive host was originally key to understand its cooperative nature and the parameters governing it in the solid state. Here, we devise a molecular alloying approach in which all components are SCO-active, but with significantly different characteristic temperatures. Thus, the molecular material [Fe(Mebpp)₂](ClO₄)₂ (2) has been doped with increasing amounts of the ligand Me2bpp (Mebpp and Me2bpp = methyl- and bis-methyl-substituted bis-pyrazolylpyridine ligands), yielding molecular alloys with the formula [Fe(Mebpp)_2-2x(Me2bpp)_2x](ClO₄)₂ (4x; 0.05 < x < 0.5). The effect of the composition on the SCO process is studied through single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD), magnetometry, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). While the attenuation of intermolecular interactions is shown to have a strong effect on the SCO cooperativity, the spin conversion was found to occur at intermediate temperatures and in one sole step for all components of the alloys, thus unveiling an unprecedented allosteric SCO process. This effect provides in turn a means of tuning the SCO temperature within a range of 42 K.

In Situ NMR Search for Spin-Crossover in Heteroleptic Cobalt(II) Complexes

Here we report the first successful attempt to identify spin-crossover compounds in solutions of metal complexes produced by mixing different ligands and an appropriate metal salt by variable-temperature nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Screening the spin state of a cobalt(II) ion in a series of thus obtained homoleptic and heteroleptic compounds of terpyridines (terpy) and 2,6-bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridines (3-bpp) by using this NMR-based approach, which only relies on the temperature behavior of chemical shifts, revealed the first cobalt(II) complexes with a 3-bpp ligand to undergo a thermally induced spin-crossover. A simple analysis of NMR spectra collected from mixtures of different compounds without their isolation or purification required by the current method of choice, the Evans technique, thus emerges as a powerful tool in a search for new spin-crossover compounds and their molecular design boosted by wide possibilities for chemical modifications in heteroleptic complexes.

Towards the Molecular Design of Spin-Crossover Complexes of 2,6-Bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridines

The molecular design of spin-crossover complexes relies on controlling the spin state of a transition metal ion by proper chemical modifications of the ligands. Herein, the first N,N'-disubstituted 2,6-bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridines (3-bpp) are reported that, against the common wisdom, induce a spin-crossover in otherwise high-spin iron(II) complexes by increasing the steric demand of a bulky substituent, an ortho-functionalized phenyl group. As N,N'-disubstituted 3-bpp complexes have no pendant NH groups that make their spin state extremely sensitive to the environment, the proposed ligand design, which may be applicable to isomeric 1-bpp or other families of popular bi-, tri- and higher denticity ligands, opens the way for their molecular design as spin-crossover compounds for future breakthrough applications.

Intramolecular Spin State Locking in Iron(II) 2,6-Di(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine Complexes by Phenyl Groups: An Experimental Study

Here we report a series of 1-phenyl-5-substituted 2,6-di(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine complexes with iron(II) ion found in a high spin state in solids (according to magnetochemistry) and in solution (according to NMR spectroscopy), providing experimental evidence for it being an intramolecular effect induced by the phenyl groups. According to X-ray diffraction, the high spin locking of the metal ion is a result of its highly distorted coordination environment (with a very low ‘twist’ angle atypical of 2,6-di(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine complexes), which remains this way in complexes with different substituents and counterions, in a diamagnetic zinc(II) analogue and in their solutions. Three possible reasons behind it, including additional coordination with the phenyl group, energy penalty incurred by its rotation or intramolecular stacking interactions, are addressed experimentally.

Solvent Effects on the Spin-Transition in a Series of Fe(II) Dinuclear Triple Helicate Compounds

This work explores the effect of lattice solvent on the observed solid-state spin-transition of a previously reported dinuclear Fe(II) triple helicate series 1–3 of the general form [FeII2L3](BF4)4(CH3CN)n, where L is the Schiff base condensation product of imidazole-4-carbaldehyde with 4,4-diaminodiphenylmethane (L1), 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfide (L2) and 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether (L3) respectively, and 1 is the complex when L = L1, 2 when L = L2 and 3 when L = L3 (Craze, A.R.; Sciortino, N.F.; Bhadbhade, M.M.; Kepert, C.J.; Marjo, C.E.; Li, F. Investigation of the Spin Crossover Properties of Three Dinuclear Fe(II) Triple Helicates by Variation of the Steric Nature of the Ligand Type. Inorganics. 2017, 5 (4), 62). Desolvation of 1 and 2 during measurement resulted not only in a decrease in T1/2 and completeness of spin-crossover (SCO) but also a change in the number of steps in the spin-profile. Compounds 1 and 2 were observed to change from a two-step 70% complete transition when fully solvated, to a single-step half complete transition upon desolvation. The average T1/2 value of the two-steps in the solvated materials was equivalent to the single T1/2 of the desolvated sample. Upon solvent loss, the magnetic profile of 3 experienced a transformation from a gradual SCO or weak antiferromagnetic interaction to a single half-complete spin-transition. Variable temperature single-crystal structures are presented and the effects of solvent molecules are also explored crystallographically and via a Hirshfeld surface analysis. The spin-transition profiles of 1–3 may provide further insight into previous discrepancies in dinuclear triple helicate SCO research reported by the laboratories of Hannon and Gütlich on analogous systems (Tuna, F.; Lees, M. R.; Clarkson, G. J.; Hannon, M. J. Readily Prepared Metallo-Supramolecular Triple Helicates Designed to Exhibit Spin-Crossover Behaviour. Chem. Eur. J. 2004, 10, 5737–5750 and Garcia, Y.; Grunert, C. M.; Reiman, S.; van Campenhoudt, O.; Gütlich, P. The Two-Step Spin Conversion in a Supramolecular Triple Helicate Dinuclear Iron(II) Complex Studied by Mössbauer Spectroscopy. Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2006, 3333–3339).

Spin-crossover compounds based on iron(ii) complexes of 2,6-bis(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine (bpp) functionalized with carboxylic acid and ethyl carboxylic acid

New salts of the iron(ii) bppCOOH and bppCOOEt spin crossover complexes have been studied.

A robust and unique iron(ii) mosaic-like MOF

A novel Fe(ii) MOF is reported to show an unprecedented 1D chain with a perfect linearity. Moreover, this structure expands to a third dimension to form a very robust MOF. The structure displays an amazing resemblance to a 14th century mosaic found in the Alhambra Palace in Granada.

A probe of steric ligand substituent effects on the spin crossover of Fe(ii) complexes

Ligand substituents modulate the SCO temperature of Fe(ii) complexes through intramolecular non-covalent interactions.

Homoleptic versus Heteroleptic Formation of Mononuclear Fe(II) Complexes with Tris-Imine Ligands

We show a marked tendency of Fe(II) to form heteroleptic [Fe(L)(L')](ClO4)2 complexes from pairs of chelating tris-imine 3bpp, tpy, or 2bbp ligands. New synthetic avenues for spin crossover research become thus available, here illustrated with three new heteroleptic compounds with differing magnetic behaviors: [Fe(H4L1)(Cl-tpy)](ClO4)2·C3H6O (1), [Fe(H2L3)(Me3bpp)](ClO4)2·C3H6O (2), [Fe(H4L1)(2bbp)](ClO4)2·3C3H6O (3). Structural studies demonstrate that 1 is in the low-spin (LS) state up to 350 K, while complexes 2 and 3 are, by contrast, in the high-spin (HS) state down to 2 K, as corroborated through magnetic susceptibility measurements. Upon exposure to the atmosphere, the latter exhibits the release of three molecules of acetone per complex, turning into the solvent-free analogue [Fe(H4L1)(2bbp)](ClO4)2 (3a), through a single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation. This guest extrusion process is accompanied by a spin switch, from HS to LS.

Spin crossover properties of enantiomers, co-enantiomers, racemates, and co-racemates

Spin-crossover Puzzle: SCO co-enantiomers, racemates, and co-racemates were successfully assembled via cocrystallization of four prefabricated enantiomeric iron(ii) modules 4R, 4S, 5R and 5S.

Designed intramolecular blocking of the spin crossover of an Fe(ii) complex

Ligand intramolecular interactions trap an Fe(ii) complex in the high spin state, in a case of thermodynamic trapping rather than kinetic.

Molecular self-recognition: a chiral [Mn(ii)6] wheel via donor–acceptor π⋯π contacts and H-bonds

A multicomponent ligand binds three Mn(ii) centers into a cluster that exhibits self-recognition through a diverse array of complementary intermolecular interactions, that multiply in the solid state, and seem to persist in solution.

Three-way crystal-to-crystal reversible transformation and controlled spin switching by a nonporous molecular material

Porous materials capable of hosting external molecules are paramount in basic and applied research. Nonporous materials able to incorporate molecules via internal lattice reorganization are however extremely rare since their structural integrity usually does not resist the guest exchange processes. The novel heteroleptic low-spin Fe(II) complex [Fe(bpp)(H2L)](ClO4)2·1.5C3H6O (1; bpp = 2,6-bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine, H2L = 2,6-bis(5-(2-methoxyphenyl)pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine) crystallizes as a compact discrete, nonporous material hosting solvate molecules of acetone. The system is able to extrude one-third of these molecules to lead to [Fe(bpp)(H2L)](ClO4)2·C3H6O (2), switching to the high-spin state while experiencing a profound crystallographic change. Compound 2 can be reversed to the original material upon reabsorption of acetone. Single crystal X-ray diffraction experiments on the latter system (1') and on 2 show that these are reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SCSC) transformations. Likewise, complex 2 can replace acetone by MeOH and H2O to form [Fe(bpp)(H2L)](ClO4)2·1.25MeOH·0.5H2O (3) through a SCSC process that also implies a switch to the spin state. The 3→1 transformation through acetone reabsorption is also demonstrated. Besides the spin switching at room temperature, this series of SCSC transformations causes macroscopic changes in color that can be followed by the naked eye. The reversible exchanges of chemicals are therefore easily sensed at the temperature at which these occur, contrary to what is the case for most of the few existing nonporous spin-based sensors, which feature a large temperature gap between the process monitored and the mechanism of detection.