Inducing spin crossover in metallo-supramolecular polyelectrolytes through an amphiphilic phase transition

A phase transition in an amphiphilic mesophase is explored to deliberately induce mechanical strain in an assembly of tightly coupled metal ion coordination centers. Melting of the alkyl chains in the amphiphilic mesophase causes distortion of the coordination geometry around the central transition metal ion. As a result, the crystal field splitting of the d-orbital subsets decreases resulting in a spin transition from a low-spin to a high-spin state. The diamagnetic-paramagnetic transition is reversible. This concept is demonstrated in a metallo-supramolecular coordination polyelectrolyte-amphiphile complex self-assembled from ditopic bis-terpyridines, Fe(II) as central transition metal, and dialkyl phosphates as amphiphiles. The magnetic properties are studied in a Langmuir-Blodgett multilayer. The modularity of this concept provides extensive control of structure and function from molecular to macroscopic length scales and gives access to a wide range of new molecular magnetic architectures such as nanostructures, thin films, and liquid crystals.