Observation of an Fe(II) Spin-Crossover in a Cesium Iron Hexacyanochromate

Abstract

In this work, we observed a spin-crossover phenomenon in a cesium iron hexacyanochromate, which is a Prussian blue analogue. This compound showed a thermal phase transition with transition temperatures of 211 K (T1/2 downward arrow) and 238 K (T1/2 upward arrow) due to a spin-crossover on FeII sites. This spin-crossover phase transition is accompanied by a lattice contraction of 0.38 A, but maintains a face-centered cubic structure (F3m). This is the first observation of FeII spin-crossover in a series of Prussian blue analogues.