Spin-Crossover in Supramolecular Iron(II)-2,6-bis(1 H -Pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine Complexes: Toward Spin-State Switchable Single-Molecule Junctions.

Spin-crossover (SCO) active iron(II) complexes are an integral class of switchable and bistable molecular materials. Spin-state switching properties of the SCO complexes have been studied in the bulk and single-molecule levels to progress toward fabricating molecule-based switching and memory elements. Supramolecular SCO complexes featuring anchoring groups for metallic electrodes, for example, gold (Au), are ideal candidates to study spin-state switching at the single-molecule level. In this study, we report on the spin-state switching characteristics of supramolecular iron(II) complexes 1 and 2 composed of functional 4-([2,2'-bithiophen]-5-ylethynyl)-2,6-di(1 H -pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine ( L1 ) and 4-(2-(5-(5-hexylthiophen-2-yl)thiophen-2-yl)ethynyl)-2,6-di(1 H -pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine ( L2 ) ligands, respectively. Density functional theory (DFT) studies revealed stretching-induced spin-state switching in a molecular junction composed of complex 1 , taken as a representative example, and gold electrodes. Single-molecule conductance traces revealed the unfavorable orientation of the complexes in the junctions to demonstrate the spin-state dependence of the conductance.