Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 27, 2026
![[(DPEPhos)(bcp)Cu]PF6: A General and Broadly Applicable Copper-Based Photoredox Catalyst](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudfront.jove.com%2FCDNSource%2Fteasers%2F59739.jpg&w=3840&q=50)
[(DPEPhos)(bcp)Cu]PF6: A General and Broadly Applicable Copper-Based Photoredox Catalyst
Published on: May 21, 2019
Photoswitchable heterotrimetallic chain based on octacyanomolybdate, copper, and nickel: synthesis, characterization,
Jérôme Long1, Lise-Marie Chamoreau, Corine Mathonière
1Laboratoire de Chimie Inorganique et Matériaux Moléculaires, CNRS UMR 7071, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, case 42, 4 place Jussieu, 75 252 Paris, France.
Abstract:
Taking into account the general interest in photoswitchable nanomagnets, we present an original synthetic route to well-defined photoswitchable heterotrimetallic complexes. Our strategy demonstrates the feasibility of using a "molybdenum-copper" switchable complex with terminal cyanide ligands as relevant synthons for the rational design and synthesis of heterotrimetallic photoswitchable molecular architectures. Starting from a pentanuclear compound based on an octacyanometalated precursor, [MoIV(CN)4(CNCuII(Me2en)2)4]4+, and a [NiII(cyclam)]2+ assembling building block, we succeeded in synthesizing a photoswitchable heterotrimetallic chain, denoted as {NiMo2Cu7}n. The compound has been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, UV-vis and IR spectroscopies, and powder magnetic and photomagnetic susceptibility measurements. Before irradiation, the compound behaves as a paramagnet with eight independent spin carriers (CuII d9, S = 1/2, and NiII d8, S = 1). After irradiation, a long-lived metastable state persists until relatively high temperature (120 K) and is thermally reversible.
Related Concept Videos
03:02Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.
02:42Valence Bond Theory
02:34Structural Isomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula. Structural isomerism of coordination compounds can be divided into two subcategories, the linkage isomers and coordination-sphere isomers.
Linkage isomers occur when the coordination compound contains a ligand that can bind to the transition metal center through two different atoms. For example, the CN− ligand can bind through the carbon atom or through the nitrogen atom. Similarly, SCN− can be...