Structures of Fe(II) spin-crossover complexes from synchrotron powder-diffraction data
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 22, 2026

Measurements of Long-range Electronic Correlations During Femtosecond Diffraction Experiments Performed on Nanocrystals of Buckminsterfullerene
Published on: August 22, 2017
Eva Dova1, René Peschar, Makoto Sakata
1University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Science, van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, Laboratory for Crystallography, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, NL-1018 WV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. eva@science.uva.nl
Abstract:
Crystal structure determination and analysis have been carried out for the two spin-crossover compounds [Fe(teeX)(6)](BF(4))(2) (teeX is haloethyltetrazole; X = I: teei; X = Br: teeb), in both their high-spin (near 300 K) and their low-spin states (T = 90 K), using high-resolution powder-diffraction data collected at the ESRF (Grenoble, France) and SPring8 (Japan) synchrotron radiation facilities. The structures of teei have been solved using various direct-space structure determination techniques (grid search, genetic algorithm and parallel tempering) and refined with the Rietveld method using geometrical restraints. In the case of teeb, a structural model was found but a full refinement was not successful because of the presence of a significant amount of an amorphous component. Analysis of the structures (space group P2(1)/c, Z = 2) and diffraction data, and the absence of phase transitions, show the overall structural similarity of these compounds and lead to the conclusion that the gradual spin-crossovers are likely to be accompanied by small structural changes only.
Related Concept Videos
Valence Bond Theory
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
¹H NMR: Interpreting Distorted and Overlapping Signals
As Δν decreases and the signals move closer, the doublets appear increasingly distorted. The intensities of the inner lines increase at the cost of those of the outer lines as the signals are slanted or...
Spin–Spin Coupling: One-Bond Coupling
Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than the dxy,...

