Control of spin-crossover phenomena in one-dimensional triazole-coordinated iron(II) complexes by means of functional counter ions

The spin-crossover (SCO) phenomenon between a high-spin and a low-spin state has attracted much attention in the field of materials science. Among the various kinds of SCO complexes, the triazole-bridged iron(II) polymeric chain system, [Fe(II)(R-trz)₃]X₂.xH₂O (where trz is triazole and X is the anion), exhibiting the SCO phenomenon with thermal hysteresis around room temperature, has been extensively studied from the viewpoint of molecular memory and molecular devices. In connection with this system, we have controlled the SCO phenomenon according to the characteristic properties of counter ions. In the case of X being C_nH₂n+1SO₃^-, the spin transition temperature (T_1/2) increases with increasing the length (n) of the alkyl chain of the counter ion and saturates above n = 5, which is attributed to the increase in the intermolecular interaction of the alkyl chains of C_nH₂n+1SO₃^-, called the fastener effect. The hysteresis width of T_1/2 decreases with increasing n, showing the even-odd, also known as parity, effect. In the cases where X is toluenesulfonate (tos: CH₃C₆H₄SO₃^-) and aminobenzenesulfonate (abs: NH₂C₆H₄SO₃^-), T_1/2 and its hysteresis width vary drastically with the structural isomerism (ortho-, metha-, and para-substitution) of counter ions, which implies the possibility of photoinduced spin transition by means of the photoisomerization of counter ions. From this strategy, we have synthesized [Fe(II)(NH₂-trz)₃](SP150)₂·2H₂O (SP150 = N-alkylsulfonated spiropyran) and investigated the SCO phenomenon. Moreover, we have developed [Fe(II)(R-trz)₃]@Nafion films exhibiting spin transition around room temperature, where the Nafion membrane behaves as a counter anion as well as a transparent substrate, and investigated the photogenerated high-spin state below 35 K. The lifetime of the photogenerated high-spin state strongly depends on the intensity of irradiated light.