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Updated: Apr 18, 2026
Author Spotlight: Magnetometric Characterization of Intermediates in the Solid-State Electrochemistry of Redox-Active Metal-Organic Frameworks
Published on: June 9, 2023
Fe(II)(pap-5NO2)2 and Fe(II)(qsal-5NO2)2 Schiff-base spin-crossover complexes: a rare example with photomagnetism and
Olga Iasco1, Eric Rivière, Régis Guillot
1ICMMO-ECI, UMR CNRS 8182, Université Paris-Sud , 91405 Orsay cedex, France.
Abstract:
We focus here on the properties of Fe complexes formed with Schiff bases involved in the chemistry of Fe(III) spin-transition archetypes. The neutral Fe(pap-5NO2)2 (1) and Fe(qsal-5NO2)2·Solv (2 and 2·Solv) compounds (Solv = 2H2O) derive from the reaction of Fe(II) salts with the condensation products of pyridine-2-carbaldehyde with 2-hydroxy-5-nitroaniline (Hpap-5NO2) or 5-nitrosalicylaldehyde with quinolin-8-amine (Hqsal-5NO2), respectively. While the Fe(qsal-5NO2)2·Solv solid is essentially low spin (S = 0) and requires temperatures above 300 K to undergo a S = 0 ↔ S = 2 spin-state switching, the Fe(pap-5NO2)2 one presents a strongly cooperative first-order transition (T↓ = 291 K, T↑ = 308 K) centered at room temperature associated with a photomagnetic effect at 10 K (TLIESST = 58 K). The investigation of these magnetic behaviors was conducted with single-crystal X-ray diffraction (1, 100 and 320 K; 2, 100 K), Mössbauer, IR, UV-vis (1 and 2·Solv), and differential scanning calorimetry (1) measurements. The Mössbauer analysis supports a description of these compounds as Fe(II) Schiff-base complexes and the occurrence of a metal-centered spin crossover process. In comparison with Fe(III) analogues, it appears that an expanded coordination sphere stabilizes the valence 2+ state of the Fe ion in both complexes. Strong hydrogen-bonding interactions that implicate the phenolato group bound to Fe(II) promote the required extra-stabilization of the S = 2 state and thus determines the spin transition of 1 centered at room temperature. In the lattice, the hydrogen-bonded sites form infinite chains interconnected via a three-dimensional network of intermolecular van der Waals contacts and π-π interactions. Therefore, the spin transition of 1 involves the synergetic influence of electrostatic and elastic interactions, which cause the enhancement of cooperativity and result in the bistability at room temperature.
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