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Published on: August 7, 2018
Valence tautomerism interconversion triggers transition to stable charge distribution in solid polymeric
Marco Affronte1, Alessandra Beni, Andrea Dei
1National Research Center on NanoStructures and BioSystems at Surfaces, INFM-CNR, Modena, Italy.
This study synthesizes novel cobalt-diazine polymers with a unique mixed-valence ligand. These materials exhibit photoinduced valence tautomerism, transitioning between metastable and stable charge states.
Area of Science:
- Coordination Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Exploration of novel polymeric coordination compounds.
- Investigating mixed-valence systems for unique electronic properties.
- Understanding ligand-metal interactions in complex structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize new polymeric cobalt-diazine derivatives.
- To investigate the valence tautomerism in these materials.
- To explore the photoinduced switching behavior of the metastable states.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of polymeric cobalt-diazine complexes.
- Characterization using magnetic, EPR, and calorimetric measurements.
- Photomagnetic studies to probe photoinduced valence tautomerism.
Main Results:
- Successful synthesis of [CoL(diazine)]n polymers, where L is a mixed-valence SQ-Cat species.
- Characterization revealed metastable charge distributions attributed to the ligand's class I mixed-valence nature.
- Entropy-driven valence tautomeric interconversion to a stable state was observed.
- Photoinduced valence tautomerism was demonstrated, with a metastable state lifetime of ~2 x 10^5 s at 9 K.
Conclusions:
- The synthesized cobalt-diazine polymers exhibit tunable electronic properties via valence tautomerism.
- Photoinduction offers a potential pathway for controlling charge distribution in these materials.
- The long lifetime of the photoinduced state suggests potential applications in molecular switches or memory devices.
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