Wet-chemistry assembly of one-dimensional nanowires: switching characteristics of a known spin-crossover iron(ii) complex through Raman spectroscopy

Abstract

In this study, a simple, fast, one-pot approach for the isolation of nanowires (NWs) in coordination chemistry is reported. Nanowires (NWs) of spin-crossover (SCO) materials are extremely rare. Here, an innovative and easy synthetic process was developed to prepare NWs of a switchable polymorph of the known complex trans-[Fe(NCS)₂(abpt)₂] using a wet-chemistry approach for the first time; abpt is the bidentate chelating ligand 4-amino-3,5-bis(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazole. The remarkable smoothness of the high-spin to low-spin transition, monitored through variable-temperature (300–80 K) Raman microscopy, compared with the sharp transition exhibited by the polycrystalline material, demonstrates the effect of the topological properties on the physical phenomena of the system.