On/Off Photoswitching in a Cyanide-Bridged {Fe₂Co₂} Magnetic Molecular Square

Abstract

A repeatable bidirectional paramagnetic ↔ diamagnetic photomagnetic effect has been observed in the cyanide-bridged Fe-Co square complex {[Fe{B(pz)(4)}(CN)(3)](2)[Co(bik)(2)](2)}(ClO(4))(2)·3H(2)O [B(pz)(4) = tetrapyrazolylborate, bik = bis(1-methylimidazol-2-yl)ketone]. Magnetic measurements and low-temperature single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments have shown that a complete electron transfer from the diamagnetic Fe(II)-Co(III) state to the paramagnetic Fe(III)-Co(II) metastable state is induced by 808 nm laser light irradiation, whereas the diamagnetic state is recovered in an almost quantitative yield under irradiation at 532 nm.