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Updated: Jan 15, 2026

Author Spotlight: Magnetometric Characterization of Intermediates in the Solid-State Electrochemistry of Redox-Active Metal-Organic Frameworks
Published on: June 9, 2023
[(18-Crown-6)K][Fe(1)Cl(1)4 ]0.5 [Fe(2)Cl(2)4 ]0.5 : A Multifunctional Molecular Switch of Dielectric, Conductivity
Yuan-Bo Tong1, Zheng-Fang Tian2, Hai-Bao Duan3
1School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences., Beijing, 100049, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Multifunctional materials that exhibit different physical properties in a single phase have potential for use in multifunctional devices. Herein, we reported an organic-inorganic hybrid compound [(18-crown-6)K][Fe(1)Cl(1)4 ]0.5 [Fe(2)Cl(2)4 ]0.5 (1) by incorporating KCl and FeCl3 into a 18-crown-6 molecule, which acts as a host of the six O atoms providing a lone pair of electrons to anchor the guest potassium cation, and [FeCl4 ]- as a counterion for charge balance to construct a complex salt. This salt exhibited a one-step reversible structural transformation giving two separate high and low temperature phases at 373 K, which was confirmed by systematic characterizations including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements, variable-temperature structural analyses, and dielectric, impedance, variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements. Interestingly, the structural transformation was coupled to both hysteretic dielectric phase transition, conductivity switch and magnetic-phase transition at 373 K. This result gives an idea for designing a new type of phase-transition materials harboring technologically important magnetic, conductivity and dielectric properties.
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