Synthesis and Analysis of Switchable Multinuclear Iron Coordination Compounds

The aim of this project is the design, development, and investigation of switchable nanoscopic coordination compounds for sensor applications. The compounds exhibit concerted and sequential electronic molecular switching upon thermal or electro-magnetical excitation.

A milestone is the synthetical modification of the switchable mono- and multinuclear compounds. The modification is based on electronical or sterical substitutions in the organic framework as well as in the metal centers. The synthesized complexes are to be characterized by suitable spectroscopic methods (eg IR, UV/Vis, Raman spectroscopy, ESI-MS, NMR, XRD) and their switching behavior should be investigated (eg Mössbauer spectroscopy, SQUID magnetometry, temperature-dependent IR spectroscopy).

Fig 1: Crystal structure (left) and Mössbauer measurement at 77 K (right) of one of the synthesized mononuclear compounds showing a spin transition.