Exploring the Optical and Energetic Properties of a Co(II)-Based Mixed Ligand MOF

Due to their remarkable properties, including remarkable porosity and extensive surface area, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are being investigated for various applications. Herein, we report the first Co(II)-based mixed ligand MOF, formulated Co4(HTrz)2(d-cam)2.5(μ-OH)3. Its 3D structure framework is composed of helical chains {[Co4(μ3-HTrz)4]8+}n connected by d-camphorate ligand building blocks and featured as an extended structure in an AB-AB fashion. The investigated compound displays a wide absorption range across the visible spectrum, characterized by an optical gap energy of 3.7 eV, indicating its semiconducting nature and efficient sunlight absorption capabilities across various wavelengths. The electrochemical performance demonstrated an excellent reversibility, cyclability, structural stability, as well as a specific capacity of up to 100 cycles at a scan rate of 0.1 mV·s-1 and a current density of 50 mA·g-1. Thus, it showcases its ability to retain the capacity over numerous charge-discharge cycles. Additionally, the investigated sample displayed an impressive rate capability during the Li-ion charge/discharge process. Therefore, the material's remarkable electrochemical properties can be ascribed to the synergistic effects of its large specific surface area of 348.294 m2·g-1 and well-defined pore size distribution of 20.448 Å, making it a promising candidate for high-performance Li-ion batteries.

A Nickel-Based Semiconductor Hybrid Material with Significant Dielectric Constant for Electronic Capacitors

A novel semiconducting Ni(II)-based hybrid material with the formula (C7H12N2) NiCl4, which exhibits interesting optical and electrical properties, is reported. The crystal structure was investigated using SCXRD, whereas physical properties were studied by means of thermal analysis, Ft-Infrared, optical, and electrical measurements. Its crystal packing is formed through organic rings surrounded by inorganic [NiCl4]2- tetrahedral and stacked along the a-crystallographic axis. This arrangement is stabilized by a dense network of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The investigated compound displayed a wide absorption range across the visible spectrum, characterized by an optical gap energy of 2.64 eV, indicating its semiconducting nature and efficient sunlight absorption capabilities across various wavelengths. Such features are of utmost importance in achieving a high energy conversion efficiency in solar cell applications. Further analyses of the thermal behavior using differential scanning calorimetry revealed a single-phase transition occurring at around 413 K, which was further confirmed through electrical measurements. A deep investigation of the electric and dielectric performances demonstrated a significant dielectric constant (ε' ∼ 104) at low frequencies and low dielectric loss at high frequencies. Thus, it highlights its exceptional dielectric potential, particularly in applications related to electronic capacitors.

Lattice Defects in Sub-Micrometer Spin-Crossover Crystals Studied by Electron Diffraction

Spin-crossover particles of [Fe(Htrz)2trz](BF4) with sizes of some hundred nanometers are studied by in situ electron microscopy. Despite their high radiation sensitivity, it was possible to analyze the particles by imaging and diffraction so that a detailed analysis of crystallographic defects in individual particles became possible. The presence of one or several tilt boundaries, where the tilt axis is the direction of the polymer chains, is detected in each particle. An in situ exposure of the particles to temperature variations or short laser pulses to induce the spin crossover shows that the defect structure only changes after a high number of transformations between the low-spin and high-spin phases. The observations are explained by the anisotropy of the atomic architecture within the crystals, which facilitates defects between weakly linked crystallographic planes.

Laser-Driven Transient Phase Oscillations in Individual Spin Crossover Particles

An unusual expansion dynamics of individual spin crossover nanoparticles is studied by ultrafast transmission electron microscopy. After exposure to nanosecond laser pulses, the particles exhibit considerable length oscillations during and after their expansion. The vibration period of 50-100 ns is of the same order of magnitude as the time that the particles need for a transition from the low-spin to the high-spin state. The observations are explained in Monte Carlo calculations using a model where elastic and thermal coupling between the molecules within a crystalline spin crossover particle govern the phase transition between the two spin states. The experimentally observed length oscillations are in agreement with the calculations, and it is shown that the system undergoes repeated transitions between the two spin states until relaxation in the high-spin state occurs due to energy dissipation. Spin crossover particles are therefore a unique system where a resonant transition between two phases occurs in a phase transformation of first order.

Rational Direct Synthesis of RbMnFe Nanoparticles (RbMnFe = RbxMn[Fe(CN)6](2+x)/3·nH2O Prussian Blue Analogue)

In this paper, we report the chemical strategy followed to obtain, in a direct way, nanoparticles of the Rb_xMn[Fe(CN)₆]_(x+2)/3·nH₂O (RbMnFe) Prussian blue analogue with the aim of keeping the switching ability of this compound at the nanoscale. The switching properties come from a reversible electron transfer between the iron and manganese ions and depends on the rubidium content in the structure that has to be higher than 0.6. Despite the multifunctionality of this family of compounds and its interest in various applications, no systematic studies were performed to obtain well-defined nanoparticles. This paper relates to such an investigation. To draw relationship between size reduction, composition, and switching properties, a special attention was brought to the determination of the composition through elemental analysis and structure refinement of powder X-ray diffraction patterns together with infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Several chemical parameters were explored to control both the size reduction and the composition following a direct synthetic approach. The results show that the smaller the particles, the lower the rubidium content. This observation might prevent the observation of switching properties on very small particles. Despite this antagonist effect, we achieved switchable particles of around 200 nm without any use of surfactant. Moreover, the size reduction is associated with the observation of the electron transfer down to 52% of rubidium in the nanoparticles against 64% in microparticles. This work is of particular interest in processing such nanoparticles into devices.

Photo-Thermal Switching of Individual Plasmonically Activated Spin Crossover Nanoparticle Imaged by Ultrafast Transmission Electron Microscopy

Spin crossover (SCO) is a promising switching phenomenon when implemented in electronic devices as molecules, thin films or nanoparticles. Among the properties modulated along this phenomenon, optically induced mechanical changes are of tremendous importance as they can work as fast light-induced mechanical switches or allow to investigate and control microstructural strains and fatigability. The development of characterization techniques probing nanoscopic behavior with high spatio-temporal resolution allows to trigger and visualize such mechanical changes of individual nanoscopic objects. Here, ultrafast transmission electron microscopy (UTEM) is used to precisely probe the length changes of individual switchable nanoparticles induced thermally by nanosecond laser pulses. This allows revealing of the mechanisms of spin switching, leading to the macroscopic expansion of SCO materials. This study is conducted on individual pure SCO nanoparticles and SCO nanoparticles encapsulating gold nanorods that serve for plasmonic heating under laser pulses. Length changes are compared with time-resolved optical measurements performed on an assembly of these particles.

Room temperature optoelectronic devices operating with spin crossover nanoparticles

Molecular systems can exhibit multi-stimuli switching of their properties, with spin crossover materials having unique magnetic transition triggered by temperature and light, among others. Light-induced room temperature operation is however elusive, as optical changes between metastable spin states require cryogenic temperatures. Furthermore, electrical detection is hampered by the intrinsic low conductivity properties of these materials. We show here how a graphene underlayer reveals the light-induced heating that triggers a spin transition, paving the way for using these molecules for room temperature optoelectronic applications.

Rational direct synthesis of [Fe(Htrz)2(trz)](BF4) polymorphs: temperature and concentration effects

Rational design of [Fe(Htrz)₂trz](BF₄) spin crossover (SCO) polymorphs through the study of the phase diagram and structure refinement.

One-Step Synthesis of Spin Crossover Nanoparticles Using Flow Chemistry and Supercritical CO2

Switchable materials are increasingly considered for implementation in devices or multifunctional composites leading to a strong need in terms of reliable synthetic productions of well-defined objects. Here, an innovative and robust template-free continuous process was developed to synthesize nanoparticles of a switchable coordination polymer, including the use of supercritical CO₂ , aiming at both quenching the particle growth and drying the powder. This all-in-one process offers a 12-fold size reduction in a few minutes while maintaining the switching properties of the selected spin crossover coordination polymer.

Unprecedented Reverse Volume Expansion in Spin-Transition Crystals

The current craze for research around the spin crossover phenomenon can be justified to some extent by the mechanical properties due to the decrease of volume associated with the transition of the metal ion from the HS state to the LS state. As demonstrated here, the molecular complex [Fe(PM-pBrA)₂ (NCS)₂ ] exhibits, on the contrary, an increase of the unit-cell volume from HS to LS. This counter-intuitive and unprecedented behavior that concerns both the thermal and the photoexcited spin conversions is revealed by a combination of single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction complemented by magnetic measurements. Interestingly, this abnormal volume change appears concomitant with the wide rotation of a phenyl ring which induces a drastic modification, though reversible, of the structural packing within the crystal. In addition, the light-induced HS state obtained through the Light-Induced Excited Spin-State Trapping shows a remarkably high relaxation temperature, namely T(LIESST), of 109 K, one of the highest so far reported. The above set of quite unusual characteristics opens up new fields of possibilities within the development of spin crossover materials.

Extreme downsizing in the surfactant-free synthesis of spin-crossover nanoparticles in a microfluidic flow-focusing junction

A new surfactant-free, flow-focusing droplet microfluidic approach was developed as an important alternative to existing synthesis techniques for the preparation of spin crossover nanoparticles.

Spray-Drying to Get Spin-Crossover Materials

Spin-crossover (SCO) triazole-based coordination polymers can be synthesized by micelle techniques, which almost always lead to rod-shaped nanoparticles. In order to notably reach new morphologies, we explore here the potentiality of the spray-drying (SD) method to get SCO materials. Three SCO coordination polymers and a mononuclear complex are investigated. In all cases, the SD method obtains particles definitely showing SCO. The features of the latter are yet always different from those of the referenced materials, in the sense that SCO is more gradual and incomplete, in adequacy with the poor crystallinity of the powders obtained by SD. In the case of coordination polymers, the particles are preferentially spherical. Indications of possible polymorphism and/or new materials induced by the use of the SD method are evidenced. In the case of the mononuclear complex, the SD method has allowed reproducing, in a quick and easy way, the well-known bulk compound. This exploratory work demonstrates the relevance of the concept and opens the way to a systematic scrutiny of all the experimental parameters to tune the size, morphology, and properties of the SD-synthesized SCO particles.

Thermal spin-crossover with a large hysteresis spanning room temperature in a mononuclear complex

The substitution of sulphur by selenium leads to spin-crossover single-crystals exhibiting a large hysteresis centred at room temperature.

Structural movies of the gradual spin-crossover in a molecular complex at various physical scales

The thermally induced Spin-CrossOver (SCO) undergone by the mononuclear iron(ii) complex [Fe(PM-AzA)₂(NCS)₂] (PM = N-2'-pyridylmethylene, AzA = 4-(phenylazo)aniline) is fully pictured by a quasi-continuous structural determination all along the spin-state modification within the sample. This large scale multi-temperature Single-Crystal X-Ray Diffraction (SCXRD) investigation leads to making structural movies. The latter reveal or confirm some features of the SCO that are subsequently validated by the same systematic investigation performed on a zinc isostructural analogue complex. Notably, the continuous views of the temperature dependencies of the unit-cell parameters, the dilatation tensors, the metal coordination sphere geometry and the intermolecular distances confirm a few of the structure-property relationships already known for SCO materials. In parallel, the examination of the temperature dependencies of the atomic coordinates and the atomic displacement parameters reveals unexpected behaviours in this gradual SCO material such as antagonistic atomic movements due to the single SCO and the pure thermal effects.

Grafting of gold onto spin-crossover nanoparticles: SCO@Au

Nanoparticles of gold were successfully grafted onto nanoparticles of a 1D polymeric spin-crossover material leading to singular SCO@Au hybrid particles.

Nanoparticles of [Fe(NH2-trz)3]Br2.3H2O (NH2-trz=2-amino-1,2,4-triazole) prepared by the reverse micelle technique: influence of particle and coherent domain sizes on spin-crossover properties

This paper describes the synthesis of iron(II) spin-crossover nanoparticles prepared by the reverse micelle technique by using the non-ionic surfactant Lauropal (Ifralan D0205) from the polyoxyethylenic family. By changing the surfactant/water ratio, the size of the particles of [Fe(NH2-trz)3]Br2.3H2O (with NH2trz=4-amino-1,2,4-triazole) can be controlled. On the macroscopic scale this complex exhibits cooperative thermal spin crossovers at 305 and 320 K. We find that when the size is reduced down to 50 nm, the spin transition becomes gradual and no hysteresis can be detected. For our data it seems that the critical size, for which the existence of a thermal hysteresis can be detected, is around 50 nm. Interestingly, the change of the particle size induces almost no change in the temperature of the thermal spin transition. A systematic determination of coherent domain size carried out on the nanoparticles by powder X-ray diffraction indicates that at approximately 30 nm individual particles consist of one coherent domain.

Synthesis of five generations of redox-stable pentamethylamidoferrocenyl dendrimers and comparison of amidoferrocenyl- and pentamethylamidoferrocenyl dendrimers as electrochemical exoreceptors for the selective recognition of H2PO4-, HSO4-, and adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) anions: stereoelectronic and hydrophobic roles of cyclopentadienyl permethylation

A family of five metallodendrimers with pentamethylamidoferrocenyl termini were synthesized from the DSM dendrimers G(n)-DAB-dend-(NH(2))(x) (x=4, 8, 16, 32, 64) and characterized by standard techniques, including prominent molecular peaks (broad for x=64) in their MALDI-TOF mass spectra. Oxidation of G(4)-DAB-dend-(NHCOFc*)(x) (Fc*=C(5)H(4)FeCp*, Cp*=eta(5)-C(5)Me(5)) with SbCl(5) in CH(2)Cl(2) yields the stable 17-electron pentamethylferrocenium analogue, which can be characterized by ESR and Mössbauer spectroscopy and reduced back to the initial Fe(II) dendrimer, the cycle being carried out without decomposition. The cyclic voltammograms (CVs) of all dendrimers, recorded in CH(2)Cl(2) or DMF, show a fully reversible ferrocenyl wave without adsorption. They are much cleaner than those of the parent ferrocenyl analogues previously synthesized and studied by Cuadrado et al. These properties allow much easier recognition and titration of H(2)PO(4) (-) and ATP(2-) by CV with the permethylated series than with the parent series. On the other hand, permethylation reduces the difference between the potentials recorded before and after titration. This is not crucial for H(2)PO(4) (-) and ATP(2-), but it is for HSO(4) (-), because of the weak interaction in this case. Thus recognition and titration in CH(2)Cl(2) proceeds best with the parent series, and a positive dendritic effect is revealed by the appearance of a new wave whose difference in potential relative to the initial wave increases with increasing generation number. In DMF, recognition and titration are only possible with the permethylated series and are subject to a dramatic dendritic effect. Indeed, the titration is followed by only a shift of the initial wave with G(1) and by the appearance of a new wave with G(2) and G(3). In conclusion, the permethylated dendrimers allow excellent recognition and titration of the oxoanions by CV due to the stereoelectronic stabilization of the 17-electron form and their hydrophobic effect. The magnitude of the recognition and positive dendritic effects is very sensitive to the dendrimer structure and to the nature of the solvent. The recognition is of the strong-interaction type (square scheme) between these dendrimers and ATP(2-) with a stoichiometry of 0.5 equiv ATP(2-) per ferrocenyl branch.

Metal-dependent ferro- versus antiferromagnetic interactions in molecular crystals of square Planar (M(II) imino-nitroxide radical) complexes (M = Pt, Pd)

The synthesis and structural, spectral, and magnetic characterizations of two new complexes of formula [Pt(IM(2)Py)Cl(2)] (A) and [Pd(IM(2)Py)Cl(2)] (B) are reported. IM(2)Py stands for the imino-nitroxide radical ligand 2-(ortho-pyridyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl. Their crystal structures were solved at room temperature and at 120 K revealing structural phase transitions from pseudo-orthorhombic to monoclinic systems for the two compounds which remain isostructural in the whole temperature range explored. Structural parameters for A: T = 293 K [120 K], monoclinic (P2(1)/n) [P2(1)/c], a = 7.906(2) [7.989(3)] A, b = 17.872(9) [10.168(4)] A, c = 10.357(3) [17.623(6)] A, beta = 90.732(13) degrees [95.940(2)] degrees, Z = 4 [4]. Structural parameters for B: T = 293 K [120 K], monoclinic (P2(1)/n) [P2(1)/c], a = 7.900(3) [7.9730(2)] A, b = 17.907(9) [10.1806(3)] A, c = 10.299(3) [17.7171(4)] A, beta = 90.524(14) degrees [95.747(2)] degrees, Z = 4 [4]. In both complexes, the metal coordination is essentially planar. The average Pt-N, Pt-Cl and Pd-N, Pd-Cl bond lengths are 1.996(6) [1.88], 2.295(2) [2.248(8)] A and 2.015(7) [2.029(8)], 2.287(3) [2.294(3)] A, respectively. The solid state structure is characterized by a pairlike molecular packing stacked in columns parallel to the a axis; this dimer character is reinforced at low temperature. Despite their structural similarity, the investigation of the magnetic properties revealed that dominant ferromagnetic interactions govern the behavior of the Pt derivative A, whereas antiferromagnetic interactions take place for the Pd compound B. A rationalization for this rather intriguing difference is proposed in light of the spin population deduced from density functional theory calculations. The electronic absorption spectra of A and B present structured absorption bands in the visible which are attributed to MLCT transitions. Both compounds are nonluminescent at room temperature. However, a weak emission is detected for A in butyronitrile glasses at 77 K, indicating that the MLCT excited state is strongly quenched at low temperature.

Temperature dependence of the crystal lattice organization of coordination compounds involving nitronyl nitroxide radicals: a magnetic and structural investigation

Four new mononuclear complexes of formula Cd(PN)(4)(NCS)(2) (A), Cd(PNN)(4)(N(3))(2) (B), Zn(PNN)(4)(N(3))(2) (C), and Zn(PNN)(2)(NCS)(2) (D), where PNN stands for 2-(4-pyridyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide and PN for 2-(4-pyridyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl, were synthesized and structurally and magnetically characterized. The X-ray structures of compounds B and C were also determined at 90 K. Compounds A[bond]C crystallize in the triclinic space group P 1 macro (No. 2), and D crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/m (No. 11). A[bond]C adopt a centrosymmetric distorted octahedral geometry in which the metal ions are bonded to four radical ligands through the nitrogen atom of the pyridyl rings and the azido or thiocyanato ligands occupy the apical positions. Compound D adopts a distorted tetrahedral geometry in which the zinc ion is bonded to two radicals and two thiocyanato ligands. As suggested by their magnetic behavior, the low-temperature X-ray structures of B and C show that these compounds undergo a clear structural change with respect to the room-temperature structures. The experimental magnetic behaviors were perfectly reproduced by a dimer model for A[bond]C and an alternating chain model for D while the sudden breaks observed in the chi(M)T versus T curves for B and C were well accounted for by the high- and low-temperature X-ray structures. For all these complexes the crystal structures favor significant overlap between molecular magnetic orbitals leading to rather strong intermolecular antiferromagnetic interactions.