Rotational order-disorder and spin crossover behaviour in a neutral iron(II) complex based on asymmetrically substituted large planar ionogenic ligand.

Octahedrally coordinated spin crossover (SCO) FeII complexes represent an important class of switchable molecular materials. This study presents the synthesis and characterisation of a novel complex, [FeII(ppt-2Fph)2]0·2MeOH, where ppt-2Fph is a new asymmetric ionogenic tridentate planar ligand 2-(5-(2-fluorophenyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)-6-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine. The complex exhibits a hysteretic thermally induced SCO transition at 285 K on cooling and at 293 K on heating, as well as light induced excited spin state trapping (LIESST) at lower temperatures with a relaxation T(LIESST) temperature of 73 K. Single crystal analysis in both spin states shows that the compound undergoes an unusual partial (25%) reversible order-disorder of the asymmetrically substituted phenyl group coupled to the thermal SCO. The highly cooperative SCO transition, analysed by structural energy framework analysis at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) theory level, revealed the co-existence of stabilising and destabilising energy variations in the lattice. The observed antagonism of intermolecular interactions and synchronous rotational disorder, which contributes to the overall entropy change, is suggested to be at the origin of the cooperative SCO transition.

Design and Processing as Ultrathin Films of a Sublimable Iron(II) Spin Crossover Material Exhibiting Efficient and Fast Light-Induced Spin Transition.

Materials based on spin crossover (SCO) molecules have centered the attention in molecular magnetism for more than 40 years as they provide unique examples of multifunctional and stimuli-responsive materials, which can be then integrated into electronic devices to exploit their molecular bistability. This process often requires the preparation of thermally stable SCO molecules that can sublime and remain intact in contact with surfaces. However, the number of robust sublimable SCO molecules is still very scarce. Here, we report a novel example of this kind. It is based on a neutral iron(II) coordination complex formulated as [Fe(neoim)2], where neoimH is the ionogenic ligand 2-(1H-imidazol-2-yl)-9-methyl-1,10-phenanthroline. In the first part, a comprehensive study, which covers the synthesis and magnetostructural characterization of the [Fe(neoim)2] complex as a bulk microcrystalline material, is reported. Then, in the second part, we investigate the suitability of this material to form thin films through high-vacuum sublimation. Finally, the retainment of all present SCO capabilities in the bulk when the material is processed is thoroughly studied by means of X-ray absorption spectroscopy. In particular, a very efficient and fast light-induced spin transition (LIESST effect) has been observed, even for ultrathin films of 15 nm.

Crystal structure of bis-{3-(3,4-di-meth-oxy-phen-yl)-5-[6-(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridin-2-yl]-1,2,4-triazol-3-ato}iron(II)-methanol-chloro-form (1/2/2).

The unit cell of the title compound, [Fe(C18H15N6O2)2]·2CH3OH·2CHCl3, consists of a charge-neutral complex mol-ecule, two methanol and two chloro-form mol-ecules. In the complex, the two tridentate 2-(5-(3,4-di-meth-oxy-phen-yl)-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)-6-(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine ligands coordinate to the central FeII ion through the N atoms of the pyrazole, pyridine and triazole groups, forming a pseudo-octa-hedral coordination sphere. Neighbouring tapered mol-ecules are linked through weak C-H(pz)⋯π(ph) inter-actions into one-dimensional chains, which are joined into two-dimensional layers through weak C-H⋯N/C/O inter-actions. Furthermore, the layers stack in a three-dimensional network linked by weak inter-layer C-H⋯π inter-actions of the meth-oxy and phenyl groups. The inter-molecular contacts were qu-anti-fied using Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots, revealing the relative contributions of the contacts to the crystal packing to be H⋯H 32.0%, H⋯C/C⋯H 26.3%, H⋯N/N⋯H 13.8%, and H⋯O/O⋯H 7.5%. The average Fe-N bond distance is 2.185 Å, indicating the high-spin state of the FeII ion. Energy framework analysis at the HF/3-21 G theory level was performed to qu-antify the inter-action energies in the crystal structure.

Spin-Crossover and Fragmentation of Fe(neoim)2 on Silver and Gold.

The neutral spin crossover complex Fe(neoim)2, neoim being the deprotonated form of the ionogenic ligand 2-(1H-imidazol-2-yl)-9-methyl-1,10-phenanthroline (neoimH), is investigated on the (111) surfaces of Au and Ag using scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory calculations. The complex sublimates and adsorbs intact on Ag(111), where it exhibits an electron-induced spin crossover. However, it fragments on Au. According to density functional theory calculations, the adsorbed complex is drastically distorted by the interactions with the substrates, in particular by van der Waals forces. Dispersion interaction is also decisive for the relative stabilities of the low- and high-spin states of the adsorbed complex. The unexpected instability of the complex on the gold substrate is attributed to enhanced covalent bonding of the fragments to the substrate.

Order-Disorder, Symmetry Breaking, and Crystallographic Phase Transition in a Series of Bis(trans-thiocyanate)iron(II) Spin Crossover Complexes Based on Tetradentate Ligands Containing 1,2,3-Triazoles.

We report herein a series of neutral trans-thiocyanate mononuclear spin crossover (SCO) complexes, [FeIIL(NCS)2] (1-4), based on tetradentate ligands L obtained by reaction of N-substituted 1,2,3-triazolecarbaldehyde with 1,3-propanediamine or 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-diaminopropane [L = N1,N3-bis((1,5-dimethyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methylene)propane-1,3-diamine/-2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diamine, 1/2 and N1,N3-bis((1-ethyl/1-propyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methylene)-2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diamine, 3/4]. The thermal-induced SCO behavior is characterized by abrupt transitions with an average critical temperature (ΔT1/2)/hysteresis loop width (ΔThyst) in the range 190-252/5-14 K, while the photo-generated metastable high-spin (HS) phases are characterized by TLIESST temperatures in the range 44-59 K. Single crystal analysis shows that except 1, all compounds experience reversible symmetry breaking coupled with the thermal SCO. Furthermore, 4 experiences an additional phase transition at ca. 290 K responsible for the coexistence of two HS phases quenched at 10 K through LIESST and TIESST effects. The molecules form hexagonally packed arrays sustained by numerous weak CH···S and C···C/S···C/N···C bonds involving polar coordination cores, while non-polar pendant aliphatic substituents are segregated inside, occupying hexagonal channels. Energy framework analysis of complexes with one step SCO transition (1, 2, and 4) shows a correlation between the cooperativity and the amplitude of changes in the molecule-molecule interactions in the lattice at the SCO transition.

Crystal structure of polymeric bis-(3-amino-1H-pyrazole)-cadmium dibromide.

The reaction of cadmium bromide tetra-hydrate with 3-amino-pyrazole (3-apz) in ethano-lic solution leads to tautomerization of the ligand and the formation of crystals of the title compound, catena-poly[[di-bromido-cadmium(II)]-bis-(µ-3-amino-1H-pyrazole)-κ2 N 3:N 2;κ2 N 2:N 3], [CdBr2(C3H5N3)2]n or [CdBr2(3-apz)2]n. Its asymmetric unit consists of a half of a Cd2+ cation, a bromide anion and a 3-apz mol-ecule. The Cd2+ cations are coordinated by two bromide anions and two 3-apz ligands, generating trans-CdN4Br2 octa-hedra, which are linked into chains by pairs of the bridging ligands. In the crystal, the ligand mol-ecules and bromide anions of neighboring chains are linked through inter-chain hydrogen bonds into a two-dimensional network. The inter-molecular contacts were qu-anti-fied using Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots, revealing the relative qu-anti-tative contributions of the weak inter-molecular contacts.

Crystal structure of bis-{3-(3-bromo-4-methoxyphenyl)-5-[6-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridin-2-yl]-1,2,4-triazol-3-ato}-iron(II) methano-l disolvate.

The unit cell of the title compound, [FeII(C17H12BrN6O)2]·2MeOH, consists of a charge-neutral complex mol-ecule and two independent mol-ecules of methanol. In the complex mol-ecule, the two tridentate ligand mol-ecules 2-[5-(3-bromo-4-meth-oxy-phen-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl]-6-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine coordinate to the FeII ion through the N atoms of the pyrazole, pyridine and triazole groups, forming a pseudo-octa-hedral coordination sphere around the central ion. In the crystal, neighbouring asymmetric mol-ecules are linked through weak C-H(pz)⋯π(ph) inter-actions into chains, which are then linked into layers by weak C-H⋯N/C inter-actions. Finally, the layers stack into a three-dimensional network linked by weak inter-layer C-H⋯π inter-actions between the meth-oxy groups and the phenyl rings. The inter-molecular contacts were qu-anti-fied using Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots, revealing the relative contributions of the contacts to the crystal packing to be H⋯H 34.2%, H⋯C/C⋯H 25.2%, H⋯Br/Br⋯H 13.2%, H⋯N/N⋯H 12.2% and H⋯O/O⋯H 4.0%. The average Fe-N bond distance is 1.949 Å, indicating the low-spin state of the FeII ion. Energy framework analysis at the HF/3-21 G theory level was performed to qu-antify the inter-action energies in the crystal structure.

Crystal structure of bis-{3-(3,4-di-methyl-phen-yl)-5-[6-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridin-2-yl]-4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-ido}iron(II) methanol disolvate.

As a result of the high symmetry of the Aea2 structure, the asymmetric unit of the title compound, [FeII(C18H15N6)2]·2MeOH, consists of half of a charge-neutral complex mol-ecule and a discrete methanol mol-ecule. The planar anionic tridentate ligand 2-[5-(3,4-di-methyl-phen-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-ato]-6-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine coordinates the FeII ion meridionally through the N atoms of the pyrazole, pyridine and triazole groups, forming a pseudo-octa-hedral coordination sphere of the central ion. The average Fe-N bond distance is 1.955 Å, indicating a low-spin state of the FeII ion. Neighbouring cone-shaped mol-ecules, nested into each other, are linked through double weak C-H(pz)⋯π(ph') inter-actions into mono-periodic columns, which are further linked through weak C-H⋯N'/C' inter-actions into di-periodic layers. No inter-actions shorter than the sum of the van der Waals radii of the neighbouring layers are observed. Energy framework analysis at the B3LYP/6-31 G(d,p) theory level, performed to qu-antify the inter-molecular inter-action energies, reproduces the weak inter-layer inter-actions in contrast to the strong inter-action within the layers. Inter-molecular contacts were qu-anti-fied using Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots, showing the relative contributions of the contacts to the crystal packing to be H⋯H 48.5%, H⋯C/C⋯H 28.9%, H⋯N/N⋯H 16.2% and C⋯C 2.4%.

105 K Wide Room Temperature Spin Transition Memory Due to a Supramolecular Latch Mechanism.

Little is known about the mechanisms behind the bistability (memory) of molecular spin transition compounds over broad temperature ranges (>100 K). To address this point, we report on a new discrete FeII neutral complex [FeIIL2]0 (1) based on a novel asymmetric tridentate ligand 2-(5-(3-methoxy-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)-6-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl))pyridine (L). Due to the asymmetric cone-shaped form, in the lattice, the formed complex molecules stack into a one-dimensional (1D) supramolecular chain. In the case of the rectangular supramolecular arrangement of chains in methanolates 1-A and 1-B (both orthorhombic, Pbcn) differing, respectively, by bent and extended spatial conformations of the 3-methoxy groups (3MeO), a moderate cooperativity is observed. In contrast, the hexagonal-like arrangement of supramolecular chains in polymorph 1-C (monoclinic, P21/c) results in steric coupling of the transforming complex species with the peripheral flipping 3MeO group. The group acts as a supramolecular latch, locking the huge geometric distortion of complex 1 and in turn the trigonal distortion of the central FeII ion in the high-spin state, thereby keeping it from the transition to the low-spin state over a large thermal range. Analysis of the crystal packing of 1-C reveals significantly changing patterns of close intermolecular interactions on going between the phases substantiated by the energy framework analysis. The detected supramolecular mechanism leads to a record-setting robust 105 K wide hysteresis spanning the room temperature region and an atypically large TLIESST relaxation value of 104 K of the photoexcited high-spin state. This work highlights a viable pathway toward a new generation of cleverly designed molecular memory materials.

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of the anionic tetra-kis-complex of lanthanum(III) NMe4LaL 4 with the CAPh-ligand dimeth-yl (2,2,2-tri-chloro-acet-yl)phospho-ramidate.

The anionic tetra-kis-complex of lanthanum(III) NMe4LaL 4 with the CAPh-ligand dimethyl (2,2,2-tri-chloro-acet-yl)phospho-ramidate (HL), namely, tetra-methyl-ammonium tetra-kis-{2,2,2-tri-chloro-1-[(di-meth-oxy-phosphor-yl)imino]-ethano-lato}lanthanum(III), (C4H12N)[La(C4H6Cl3NO4P)4], has been synthesized, crystallized and structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction. The lanthanide ion is surrounded by four anionic, bis-chelating CAPh ligands forming the complex anion with a coordination number of eight for La3+ and NMe4 + as the counter-ion. The coordination polyhedron of the La3+ ion was inter-preted as a triangular dodeca-hedron.

Crystal structure of (N 1,N 3-bis-{[1-(4-meth-oxy-benz-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]methyl-idene}-2,2-di-meth-yl-propane-1,3-di-amine)-bis-(thio-cyanato)-iron(II).

The unit cell of the title compound, [FeII(NCS)2(C29H32N8O2)], consists of eight charge-neutral complex mol-ecules. In the complex mol-ecule, the tetra-dentate ligand N 1,N 3-bis-{[1-(4-meth-oxy-benz-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]methyl-ene}-2,2-di-methyl-propane-1,3-di-amine coordinates to the FeII ion through the N atoms of the 1,2,3-triazole and aldimine groups. Two thio-cyanate anions, coordinated through their N atoms, complete the coordination sphere of the central Fe ion. In the crystal, neighbouring mol-ecules are linked through weak C⋯C, C⋯N and C⋯S inter-actions into a one-dimensional chain running parallel to [010]. The inter-molecular contacts were qu-anti-fied using Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots, revealing the relative contributions of the contacts to the crystal packing to be H⋯H (37.5%), H⋯C/C⋯H (24.7%), H⋯S/S⋯H (15.7%) and H⋯N/N⋯H (11.7%). The average Fe-N bond distance is 2.167 Å, indicating the high-spin state of the FeII ion, which does not change upon cooling, as demonstrated by low-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements.

Crystal structure of {N 1,N 3-bis-[(1-tert-butyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl-idene]-2,2-di-methyl-propane-1,3-di-amine}-bis-(thio-cyanato)-iron(II).

The unit cell of the title compound, [FeII(NCS)2(C19H32N8)], consists of two charge-neutral complex mol-ecules. In the complex mol-ecule, the tetra-dentate ligand N 1 ,N 3-bis-[(1-tert-butyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl-ene]-2,2-di-methyl-propane-1,3-di-amine coordinates to the FeII ion through the N atoms of the 1,2,3-triazole and aldimine groups. Two thio-cyanate anions, also coordinated through their N atoms, complete the coordination sphere of the central Fe ion. In the crystal, neighbouring mol-ecules are linked through weak C-H⋯C/S/N inter-actions into a three-dimensional network. The inter-mol-ecular contacts were qu-anti-fied using Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots, revealing the relative contributions of the contacts to the crystal packing to be H⋯H 50.8%, H⋯C/C⋯H 14.3%, H⋯S/S⋯H 20.5% and H⋯N/N⋯H 12.1%. The average Fe-N bond distance is 2.170 Å, indicating the high-spin state of the FeII ion, which does not change upon cooling, as demonstrated by low-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements. DFT calculations of energy frameworks at the B3LYP/6-31 G(d,p) theory level were performed to account for the inter-actions involved in the crystal structure.

Crystal structure of {N 1,N 3-bis-[(1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl-idene]-2,2-di-methyl-propane-1,3-di-amine}bis-(thio-cyanato-κN)iron(II).

The unit cell of the title compound, [FeII(NCS)2(C25H28N8)], consists of two charge-neutral complex mol-ecules related by an inversion centre. In the complex mol-ecule, the tetra-dentate ligand N 1,N 3-bis-[(1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl-ene]-2,2-di-methyl-propane-1,3-di-amine coordinates to the FeII ion through the N atoms of the 1,2,3-triazole moieties and aldimine groups. Two thio-cyanate anions, coordinating through their N atoms, complete the coordination sphere of the central ion. In the crystal, neighbouring mol-ecules are linked through weak C-H⋯π, C-H⋯S and C-H⋯N inter-actions into a two-dimensional network extending parallel to (011). The inter-molecular contacts were qu-anti-fied using Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots, revealing the relative contributions of the contacts to the crystal packing to be H⋯H (35.2%), H⋯C/C⋯H (26.4%), H⋯S/S⋯H (19.3%) and H⋯N/N⋯H (13.9%).

Thermochromic Meltable Materials with Reverse Spin Transition Controlled by Chemical Design.

We report a series of meltable FeII complexes, which, depending on the length of aliphatic chains, display abrupt forward low-spin to high-spin transition or unprecedented melting-triggered reverse high-spin to low-spin transition on temperature rise. The reverse spin transition is perfectly reproducible on thermal cycling and the obtained materials are easily processable in the form of thin film owing to their soft-matter nature. We found that the discovered approach represents a potentially generalizable new avenue to control both the location in temperature and the direction of the spin transition in meltable compounds.

Variable Cooperative Interactions in the Pressure and Thermally Induced Multistep Spin Transition in a Two-Dimensional Iron(II) Coordination Polymer.

Two types of experiments conducted to investigate the effect of pressure on the spin crossover (SCO) properties of the 2D Fe(II) coordination polymer formulated {Fe[bipy(ttr)2]}n are reported, namely, (1) magnetic measurements performed at variable temperature and at fixed pressure and (2) visible spectroscopy at variable pressure and fixed temperature. The magnetic experiments carried out under a hydrostatic pressure constraint of 0.04, 0.08, and 0.8 GPa reveal a two-step spin transition behavior. The characteristic critical temperatures of the spin transition are shifted upward in temperature as pressure increases. The slope of the straight-line of the Tc vs P plot, dTc/dP, is 775 K/GPa and 300 K/GPa, for the high temperature and the low temperature steps, respectively. These values are remarkably large and denote the extreme sensitivity of the material to the application of pressure. Indeed, the visible spectroscopic measurements performed at 293 K show that a complete spin transition is induced at pressures as low as 0.4 GPa. Moreover, the pressure-induced spin transition is reversible and shows an asymmetric hysteresis. An analysis of the cooperative interactions of the thermal- and pressure-induced spin transition in the framework of the model of elastic interactions reveals that the elastic energy of the lattice as well as the interaction parameter between the SCO centers change during the course of the spin transition. Consequently, the character of the spin transition varies from abrupt for the high temperature step to continuous for the low temperature step.

Crystal structure of the mixed methanol and ethanol solvate of bis-{3,4,5-trimeth-oxy-N'-[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl-idene]benzohydrazidato}zinc(II).

The unit cell of the title compound, [Zn(C17H18N3O4)2]·CH4O·C2H6O, contains two complex mol-ecules related by an inversion centre, plus one methanol and one ethanol solvent molecule per complex molecule. In each complex, two deprotonated pyridine aroylhydrazone ligands {3,4,5-trimeth-oxy-N'-[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl-idene]benzohydrazide} coordinate to the ZnII ion through the N atoms of the pyridine group and the ketamine, and, additionally, through the O atom of the enolate group. In the crystal, dimers are formed by π-π inter-actions between the planar ligand moieties, which are further connected by C⋯O and C⋯C inter-actions. The inter-molecular inter-actions were investigated using Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots, revealing that the most important contributions for the crystal packing are from H⋯H (44.8%), H⋯C/C⋯H (22.2%), H⋯O/O⋯H (18.7%) and C⋯C (3.9%) inter-actions.

Guest induced reversible on-off switching of elastic frustration in a 3D spin crossover coordination polymer with room temperature hysteretic behaviour.

A binary reversible switch between low-temperature multi-step spin crossover (SCO), through the evolution of the population γ HS(T) with high-spin (HS)-low-spin (LS) sequence: HS1LS0 (state 1) ↔ HS2/3LS1/3 (state 2) ↔ HS1/2LS1/2 (state 3) ↔ HS1/3LS2/3 (state 4) ↔ HS0LS1 (state 5), and complete one step hysteretic spin transition featuring 20 K wide thermal hysteresis centred at 290 K occurs in the three-dimensional (3D) Hofmann-type porous coordination polymer {FeII(3,8phen)[Au(CN)2]2}·xPhNO2 (3,8phen = 3,8-phenanthroline, PhNO2 = nitrobenzene), made up of two identical interpenetrated pcu-type frameworks. The included PhNO2 guest (x = 1, 1·PhNO2) acts as a molecular wedge between the interpenetrated 3D frameworks via PhNO2-3,8phen intermolecular recognition and is the source of the strong elastic frustration responsible for the multi-step regime. Detailed X-ray single crystal analysis reflects competition between spatial periodicities of structurally inequivalent HS and LS SCO centres featuring: (i) symmetry breaking (state 3) with ⋯HS-LS⋯ ordering with γ HS = 1/2; and (ii) occurrence of spatial modulation of the structure providing evidence for stabilization of local or aperiodic ordered mixed spin states for states 2 and 4 (with γ HS ≈ 2/3) and 4 (with γ HS ≈ 1/3), respectively. Below c.a. 20 K, structural and magnetic analyses show the photogeneration of a metastable HS*, state 6. The room-temperature single-step hysteretic regime appears with release of the guest (x = 0, 1) and the elastic frustration, and reversibly switches back to the original four-step behaviour upon guest re-adsorption. Both uncommon relevant SCO events meeting in the same material represent a rare opportunity to compare them in the frame of antiferro- and ferro-elastic transitions.

Synthesis and Characterization of Anionic Lanthanide(III) Complexes with a Bidentate Sulfonylamidophosphate (SAPh) Ligand.

A series of new anionic lanthanide(III) complexes with the general formula NEt4[LnL4] (1-Ln; HL = dimethyl[(4-methylphenyl)sulfonyl]amidophosphate; Ln = La, Nd, Eu), were synthesized and characterized by IR, UV-vis, and NMR spectroscopies, the differential scanning calorimetry method, thermogravimetric and X-ray analysis, and photoluminescence measurements. Single-crystal structures of NEt4[EuL4] (1-Eu) were determined at 293 and 100 K and evidenced the single-crystal-to-single-crystal phase transition. Both phases are in the monoclinic crystal system in centrosymmetric groups of the same Laue class. The room temperature structure is in C2/c (No. 15), while low-temperature structure is in the P21/c (No. 14) space groups. The coordination environment geometry around the central europium(III) ion is a distorted square antiprism in both polymorphs, while the peripheral methoxy and tolyl groups show different orientations. This phenomenon indicates the occurrence of a thermally driven second-order phase transition during the cooling-heating process. The europium(III) complex exhibits an unusual emission spectrum, clearly dominated by the 5D0-7F4 bands, and an emission decay time equaling 3.5 ms, being among the highest values known for europium coordination compounds.

Crystal structure and magnetic properties of bis-[butyl-tris-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)borato]iron(II).

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Fe(C13H18BN6)2], contains two half independent complex mol-ecules. In each complex, the FeII atom is located on an inversion center and is surrounded by two scorpionate ligand butyl-tris-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)borate mol-ecules that coordinate to the iron(II) ion through the N atoms of the pyrazole groups. The two independent complex mol-ecules differ essentially in the conformation of the butyl substituents. In the crystal, the complex mol-ecules are linked by a series of C-H⋯π inter-actions, which generate a supra-molecular three-dimensional structure. At 120 K, the average Fe-N bond distance is 1.969 Å, indicating the low-spin state of the iron(II) atom, which does not change upon heating, as demonstrated by high-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements.

Discrimination between two memory channels by molecular alloying in a doubly bistable spin crossover material.

A multistable spin crossover (SCO) molecular alloy system [Fe1-x M x (nBu-im)3(tren)](P1-y As y F6)2 (M = ZnII, NiII; (nBu-im)3(tren) = tris(n-butyl-imidazol(2-ethylamino))amine) has been synthesized and characterized. By controlling the composition of this isomorphous series, two cooperative thermally induced SCO events featuring distinct critical temperatures (T c) and hysteresis widths (ΔT c, memory) can be selected at will. The pristine derivative 100As (x = 0, y = 1) displays a strong cooperative two-step SCO and two reversible structural phase transitions (PTs). The low temperature PTLT and the SCO occur synchronously involving conformational changes of the ligand's n-butyl arms and two different arrangements of the AsF6 - anions [T1c = 174 K (ΔT1c = 17 K), T2c = 191 K (ΔT2c = 23 K) (scan rate 2 K min-1)]. The high-temperature PTHT takes place in the high-spin state domain and essentially involves rearrangement of the AsF6 - anions [TPTc = 275 K (ΔTPTc = 16 K)]. This behavior strongly contrasts with that of the homologous 100P [x = 0, y = 0] derivative where two separate cooperative one-step SCO can be selected by controlling the kinetics of the coupled PTLT at ambient pressure: (i) one at low temperatures, T c = 122 K (ΔT c = 9 K), for temperature scan rates (>1 K min-1) (memory channel A) where the structural modifications associated with PTLS are inhibited; (ii) the other centered at T c = 155 K (ΔT c = 41 K) for slower temperature scan rates ≤0.1 K min-1 (memory channel B). These two SCO regimes of the 100P derivative transform reversibly into the two-step SCO of 100As upon application of hydrostatic pressure (ca. 0.1 GPa) denoting the subtle effect of internal chemical pressure on the SCO behavior. Precise control of AsF6 - ↔ PF6 - substitution, and hence of the PTLT kinetics, selectively selects the memory channel B of 100P when x = 0 and y ≈ 0.7. Meanwhile, substitution of FeII with ZnII or NiII [x ≈ 0.2, y = 0] favors the low temperature memory channel A at any scan rate. This intriguing interplay between PT, SCO and isomorphous substitution was monitored by single crystal and powder X-ray diffractometries, and magnetic and calorimetric measurements.