Theoretical investigation of the electronic structure of Fe(II) complexes at spin-state transitions

The electronic structure relevant to low spin (LS)high spin (HS) transitions in Fe(II) coordination compounds with a FeN6 core are studied. The selected [Fe(tz)6]2+(1) (tz=1H-tetrazole), [Fe(bipy)3]2+(2) (bipy=2,2’-bipyridine) and [Fe(terpy)2]2+ (3) (terpy=2,2’:6’,2’’-terpyridine) complexes have been actively studied experimentally, and with their respective mono-, bi-, and tridentate ligands, they constitute a comprehensive set for theoretical case studies. The methods in this work include density functional theory (DFT), time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) and multiconfigurational second order perturbation theory (CASPT2). We determine the structural parameters as well as the energy splitting of the LS-HS states (ΔEHL) applying the above methods, and comparing their performance. We also determine the potential energy curves representing the ground and low-energy excited singlet, triplet, and quintet d6 states along the mode(s) that connect the LS and HS states. The results indicate that while DFT is well suited for the prediction of structural parameters, an accurate multiconfigurational approach is essential for the quantitative determination of ΔEHL. In addition, a good qualitative agreement is found between the TD-DFT and CASPT2 potential energy curves. Although the TD-DFT results might differ in some respect (in our case, we found a discrepancy at the triplet states), our results suggest that this approach, with due care, is very promising as an alternative for the very expensive CASPT2 method. Finally, the two dimensional (2D) potential energy surfaces above the plane spanned by the two relevant configuration coordinates in [Fe(terpy)2]2+ were computed both at the DFT and CASPT2 levels. These 2D surfaces indicate that the singlet-triplet and triplet-quintet states are separated along different coordinates, i.e. different vibration modes. Our results confirm that in contrast to the case of complexes with mono- and bidentate ligands, the singlet-quintet transitions in [Fe(terpy)2]2+ cannot be described using a single configuration coordinate

Temperature- and Light-Induced Spin Crossover Observed by X-ray Spectroscopy on Isolated Fe(II) Complexes on Gold

Using X-ray absorption techniques, we show that temperature- and light-induced spin crossover properties are conserved for a submonolayer of the [Fe(H2B(pz)2)2(2,2′-bipy)] complex evaporated onto a Au(111) surface. For a significant fraction of the molecules, we see changes in the absorption at the L2,3 edges that are consistent with those observed in bulk and thick film references. Assignment of these changes to spin crossover is further supported by multiplet calculations to simulate the X-ray absorption spectra. As others have observed in experiments on monolayer coverages, we find that many molecules in our submonolayer system remain pinned in one of the two spin states. Our results clearly demonstrate that temperature- and light-induced spin crossover is possible for isolated molecules on surfaces but that interactions with the surface may play a key role in determining when this can occur

First principles calculation of a large variation in dielectric tensor through the spin crossover in the CsFe[Cr(CN)6] Prussian blue analogue

The dielectric response of spin-crossover (SCO) materials is a key property facilitating their use in next-generation information processing technologies. Solid state hybrid density functional theory calculations show that the temperature-induced and strongly hysteretic SCO transition in the Cs+Fe2+[Cr3+(CN−)6] Prussian blue analogue (PBA) is associated with a large change (Δ) in both the static, Δɛ0(HS − LS), and high frequency, Δɛ∞(HS − LS) dielectric constants. The SCO-induced variation in CsFe[Cr(CN)6] is significantly greater than the experimental Δɛ values observed previously in other SCO materials. The phonon contribution, Δɛphon(HS − LS), determined within a lattice dynamics approach, dominates over the clamped nuclei term, Δɛ∞(HS − LS), and is in turn dominated by the low-frequency translational motions of Cs+ cations within the cubic voids of the Fe[Cr(CN)6]− framework. The Cs+ translational modes couple strongly to the large unit cell volume change occurring through the SCO transition. PBAs and associated metal-organic frameworks emerge as a potentially fruitful class of materials in which to search for SCO transitions associated with large changes in dielectric response and other macroscopic properties