Spin crossover probes confer multistability to organic conducting polymers

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Organic Electronics

Background:

• Organic conducting polymers (CPs) offer tunable electronic properties.
• Spin crossover (SCO) complexes exhibit bistability, switching between low-spin and high-spin states.
• Combining CPs and SCO complexes presents an opportunity for switchable electronic materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the synergistic multistability of conducting polymers embedded with spin crossover components.
• To explore the impact of spin transitions on the electrical conductivity of these hybrid materials.
• To assess the potential for developing novel electronic devices utilizing SCO switching.

Main Methods:

• Integration of SCO complexes within the matrix of organic conducting polymers.
• Application of external stimuli, specifically thermal activation, to induce spin transitions in SCO probes.
• Measurement of electrical conductivity changes in the CP component across different spin states.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated synergic multistability in CP-SCO hybrid materials.
• Observed up to a 300% difference in electrical conductivity between low-spin and high-spin states.
• Characterized wide hysteresis in conductivity switching at technologically relevant temperatures.

Conclusions:

• CPs embedded with SCO components exhibit significant, stimulus-induced electrical conductivity switching.
• The observed multistability and hysteresis are promising for electronic applications.
• This work highlights the potential of SCO switching for advanced electronic devices.