Temperature-, Pressure- and Light-Induced Electronic Spin Conversions in Transition Metal Complexes

Molecular Spin State Switching and Photochromism in the Red and Near Infrared with Ni(II) Chlorin and Ni(II) Bacteriochlorin

Molecules or ions are either paramagnetic (unpaired electrons) or diamagnetic (all electrons are paired). Switching between the two states under ambient conditions was considered a typical solid state phenomenon and has been termed spin crossover. The first single-molecule spin state switches operated with light in solution were developed a decade ago and offer a number of technical applications that are not accessible to solid state systems. Magnetic switching in biological environments, however, requires water solubility, and for in vivo applications, switching wavelengths within the bio-optical window (650-950 nm) are needed. We now present molecular spin state switches that are water-soluble and switchable in the far-red and near-infrared region. At the same time, they are photochromic compounds with excellent photophysical properties. trans-cis isomerization is induced with 505 nm radiation, and cis-trans conversion with 620 or 720 nm radiation. The metastable cis isomers are stable at room temperature for at least several weeks. The detailed mechanism of this surprising and unprecedented long wavelength photoisomerization of azobenzenes is still under investigation.

Modeling Molecules under Pressure with Gaussian Potentials

The computational modeling of molecules under high pressure is a growing research area that augments experimental high-pressure chemistry. Here, a new electronic structure method for modeling atoms and molecules under pressure, Gaussians On Surface Tesserae Simulate HYdrostatic Pressure (GOSTSHYP) approach, is introduced. In this method, a set of Gaussian potentials is distributed evenly on the van der Waals surface of the investigated chemical system, leading to a compression of the electron density and the atomic scaffold. Since no parameters other than pressure need to be specified, GOSTSHYP allows straightforward geometry optimizations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of chemical systems under pressure for nonexpert users. Calculated energies, bond lengths, and dipole moments under pressure fall within the range of established computational methods for high-pressure chemistry. A Diels-Alder reaction and the cyclotrimerization of acetylene showcase the ability of GOSTSHYP to model pressure-induced chemical reactions. The connection to mechanochemistry is pointed out.

Photoinduced Mo-CN Bond Breakage in Octacyanomolybdate Leading to Spin Triplet Trapping

The photoinduced properties of the octacoordinated complex K₄ Mo^IV (CN)₈ ⋅2 H₂ O were studied by theoretical calculations, crystallography, and optical and magnetic measurements. The crystal structure recorded at 10 K after blue light irradiation reveals an heptacoordinated Mo(CN)₇ species originating from the light-induced cleavage of one Mo-CN bond, concomitant with the photoinduced formation of a paramagnetic signal. When this complex is heated to 70 K, it returns to its original diamagnetic ground state, demonstrating full reversibility. The photomagnetic properties show a partial conversion into a triplet state possessing significant magnetic anisotropy, which is in agreement with theoretical studies. Inspired by these results, we isolated the new compound [K(crypt-222)]₃ [Mo^IV (CN)₇ ]⋅3 CH₃ CN using a photochemical pathway, confirming that photodissociation leads to a stable heptacyanomolybdate(IV) species in solution.

Ultrafast Photodynamics of an Azopyridine-Functionalized Iron(II) Complex: Implications for the Concept of Ligand-Driven Light-Induced Spin Change

We report on the ultrafast photodynamics of an iron(II) complex with a photoisomerizable pentadentate azo-tetrapyridylamino ligand after irradiation with ultraviolet light. The results of femtosecond transient electronic absorption spectroscopy performed on the low-spin (LS) form of the title complex show that initial excitation of the ππ* state of the azopyridine unit in the ligand at λ_pump = 312 nm is followed by an ultrafast intersystem crossing (ISC) that leads to the formation of a metal-centered (MC) ⁵T state, in competition with the intended photoswitching of the azopyridine unit. Additional measurements carried out upon excitation of the singlet metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (¹MLCT) transition at λ_pump = 455 nm suggest that this energy transfer occurs via an MLCT state. The resulting high-spin (HS) ⁵T state of the complex is metastable and recovers to the LS ground state with a time constant of ∼3 ns. The implications of these observations on the ligand-driven light-induced spin change concept are discussed.

Ligand-Driven Light-Induced Spin Change in Transition-Metal Complexes: Selection of an Appropriate System and First Evidence of the Effect, in Fe(II)(4-styrylpyridine)(4)(NCBPh(3))(2)

The first observation of a ligand-driven light-induced spin-state change (LD-LISC effect) in a transition-metal complex is reported. The compounds under investigation are of the type Fe(II)L(4)X(2), where L is a cis/trans photoisomerizable ligand. For an iron(II) spin-state change to result from ligand cis <--> trans conversion, the Fe(II)(trans-L)(4)X(2) species had to exhibit a thermally-induced high-spin state <--> low-spin state crossover. This property was checked by variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements, for compounds with X(-) = NCBPh(3)(-) or NCBH(3)(-) and L = 1-phenyl-2-(4-pyridyl)ethene (or 4-styrylpyridine, abbreviated as Stpy), 1-(4-R-phenyl)-2-(4-pyridyl)ethene (R = CH(3), COOCH(3)), or 1-(1-naphthyl)-2-(4-pyridyl)ethene. The results are comparatively discussed. The best candidate for the LD-LISC effect to be observed is found to be Fe(Stpy)(4)(NCBPh(3))(2): the complex (C(t)) formed with trans-Stpy undergoes a thermally-induced spin crossover centered around 190 K; the one (C(c)) formed with cis-Stpy retains the high-spin state at any temperature. Photoisomerization of the Stpy ligand, at 140 K, in the complex embedded within a cellulose acetate matrix, is effectively shown, on the basis of UV-vis absorption measurements, to trigger the spin-state change of the iron(II) ions.

Spin Crossover in a Catenane Supramolecular System

The compound [Fe(tvp)(2)(NCS)(2)] . CH(3)OH, where tvp is 1,2-di-(4-pyridyl)-ethylene, has been synthesized and characterized by x-ray single-crystal diffraction. It consists of two perpendicular, two-dimensional networks organized in parallel stacks of sheets made up of edge-shared [Fe(II)](4) rhombuses. The fully interlocked networks define large square channels in the [001] direction. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements and Mössbauer studies reveal that this compound shows low-spin to high-spin crossover behavior in the temperature range from 100 to 250 kelvin. The combined structural and magnetic characterization of this kind of compound is fundamental for the interpretation of the mechanism leading to the spin crossover, which is important in the development of electronic devices such as molecular switches.