Spin crossover of a Fe(II) mononuclear complex induced by intermolecular factors involving chloride and solvent ordering

Two new salts of a mononuclear tripodal Fe(II) complex were prepared, using ClO4- and Cl-. The ClO4- sample (1) remained HS at low temperatures, similar to the previously reported BF4- analogue. Crystallising with the Cl- anion (2) led to a markedly different crystal packing arrangement, and engendered SCO activity. This has been correlated to the lower crystal packing density in 2 and the coordination complex conformational differences arising due to the packing motifs of 1 and 2. Further, solvent ordering effects have been proposed to facilitate spin transition behaviour in 2.

Cooperative Spin Crossover above Room Temperature in the Iron(II) Cyanoborohydride-Pyrazine Complex

Hysteretic spin crossover in coordination complexes of 3d-metal ions represents one of the most spectacular phenomena of molecular bistability. In this paper we describe a self-assembly of pyrazine (pz) and Fe(BH₃CN)₂ that afforded the new 2D coordination polymer [Fe(pz)₂(BH₃CN)₂]_∞. It undergoes an abrupt, hysteretic spin crossover (SCO) with a T_1/2 of 338 K (heating) and 326 K (cooling) according to magnetic susceptibility measurements. Mössbauer spectroscopy revealed a complete transition between the low-spin (LS) and the high-spin (HS) states of the iron centers. This LS-to-HS transition induced an increase of the unit cell volume by 10.6%. Meanwhile, a modulation of multiple [C-H^δ+···H^δ--B] dihydrogen bonds stimulates a contraction in direction c (2.2%). The simplicity of the synthesis, mild temperatures of transition, a pronounced thermochromism, stability upon thermal cycling, a striking volume expansion upon SCO, and an easy processability to composite films make this new complex an attractive material for switchable components of diverse applications.

Theoretical modeling of the singlet-triplet spin transition in different Ni(II)-diketo-pyrphyrin-based metal-ligand octahedral complexes

The structural stability, charge transfer effects and strength of the spin-orbit couplings in different Ni(ii)-ligand complexes have been studied at the DFT (B3LYP and CAM-B3LYP) and coupled cluster (DLPNO-CCSD(T)) levels of theory. Accordingly, two different, porphyrin- and diketo-pyrphyrin-based four-coordination macrocycles as planar ligands as well as pyridine (or pyrrole) and mesylate anion molecular groups as vertical ligands were considered in order to build metal-organic complexes with octahedral coordination configurations. For each molecular system, the identification of equilibrium geometries and the intersystem crossing (the minimum energy crossing) points between the potential energy surfaces of the singlet and triplet spin states is followed by computing the spin-orbit couplings between the two spin states. Structures, based on the diketo-pyrphyrin macrocycle as the planar ligand, show stronger six-coordination metal-organic complexes due to the extra electrostatic interaction between the positively charged central metal cation and the negatively charged vertical ligands. The results also show that the magnitude of the spin-orbit coupling is influenced by the atomic positions of deprotonations of the ligands, and implicitly the direction of the charge transfer between the ligand and the central metal ion.

Iron(II) Spin Crossover (SCO) Materials Based on Dipyridyl-N-Alkylamine

We present here a new series of spin crossover (SCO) Fe(II) complexes based on dipyridyl-N-alkylamine and thiocyanate ligands, with the chemical formulae [Fe(dpea)2(NCS)2] (1) (dpea = 2,2’-dipyridyl-N-ethylamine), I-[Fe(dppa)2(NCS)2], (2) II-[Fe(dppa)2(NCS)2], and (2’) (dppa = 2,2’-dipyridyl-N-propylamine). The three complexes displayed nearly identical discrete molecular structures, where two chelating ligands (dpea (1) and dppa (2 and 2’)) stand in the cis-positions, and two thiocyanato-κN ligands complete the coordination sphere in the two remaining cis-positions. Magnetic studies as a function of temperature revealed the presence of a complete high-spin (HS) to low-spin (LS) transition at T1/2 = 229 K for 1, while the two polymorphs I-[Fe(dppa)2(NCS)2] (2) and II-[Fe(dppa)2(NCS)2] (2’) displayed similar magnetic behaviors with lower transition temperatures (T1/2 = 211 K for 2; 212 K for 2’). Intermolecular contacts in the three complexes indicated the absence of any significant interaction, in agreement with the gradual SCO behaviors revealed by the magnetic data. The higher transition temperature observed for complex 1 agrees well with the more pronounced linearity of the Fe–N–C angles recently evidenced by experimental and theoretical magnetostructural studies.