Elastic Frustration Triggering Photoinduced Hidden Hysteresis and Multistability in a Two-Dimensional Photoswitchable...

We report a two-dimensional Hofmann-like spin-crossover (SCO) material, [Fe(trz-py)₂{Pt(CN)₄}]·3H₂O, built from [FePt(CN)₄] layers separated by interdigitated 4-(2-pyridyl)-1,2,4,4H-triazole (trz-py) ligands with two symmetrically inequivalent Fe^II sites. This compound exhibits an incomplete first-order spin transition at 153 K between fully high-spin (HS-HS) and intermediate high-spin low-spin (HS-LS) ordered states. At low temperature, it undergoes a bidirectional photoswitching to HS-HS and fully low-spin (LS-LS) states with green and near-IR light irradiation, respectively, with associated T(LIESST = Light-Induced Excited Spin-State Trapping) and T(reverse-LIESST) values of 52 and 85 K, respectively. Photomagnetic investigations show that the reverse-LIESST process, performed from either HS-HS or HS-LS states, enables access to a hidden stable LS-LS state, revealing the existence of a hidden thermal hysteresis. Crystallographic investigations allowed to identify that the strong metastability of the HS-LS state originates from the existence of a strong elastic frustration causing antiferroelastic interactions within the [FePt(CN)₄] layers, through the rigid NC-Pt-CN bridges connecting the inequivalent Fe^II sites. The existence of the stable LS-LS state paves the way for a multidirectional photoswitching and allows potential applications for electronic devices based on ternary digits.