Selective and Reusable Iron(II)-Based Molecular Sensor for the Vapor-Phase Detection of Alcohols

A mononuclear iron­(II) neutral complex (<b>1</b>) is screened for sensing abilities for a wide spectrum of chemicals and to evaluate the response function toward physical perturbation like temperature and mechanical stress. Interestingly, <b>1</b> precisely detects methanol among an alcohol series. The sensing process is visually detectable, fatigue-resistant, highly selective, and reusable. The sensing ability is attributed to molecular sieving and subsequent spin-state change of iron centers, after a crystal-to-crystal transformation