High-field EPR of copper(ii)–nitroxide compound exhibiting three-step phase transition: structural insights from the field-induced sample orientation†
Abstract
Copper(II)–nitroxide based Cu(hfac)2LR compounds exhibit unusual magnetic behavior that can be induced by various stimuli. In many aspects, the magnetic phenomena observed in Cu(hfac)2LR are similar to classical spin-crossover behavior. However, these phenomena originate from polynuclear exchange-coupled spin clusters Cu2+–O˙–N< or >N–˙O–Cu2+–O˙–N<. Such peculiarities may result in additional multifunctionality of Cu(hfac)2LR compounds, making them promising materials for spintronic applications. Herein, we investigate the Cu(hfac)2LMeMe material, which demonstrates a three-step temperature-induced magnetostructural transition between high-temperature, low-temperature, and intermediate states, as revealed by magnetometry. Two main steps were resolved using variable-temperature Fourier-transform infrared and Q-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies. The intermediate-temperature states (∼40–90 K) are characterized by the coexistence of two types of copper(II)–nitroxide clusters, corresponding to the low-temperature and high-temperature phases. High-field EPR experiments revealed the effect of partial alignment of Cu(hfac)2LMeMe microcrystals in a strong (>20 T) magnetic field. This effect was used to unveil the structural features of the low-temperature phase of Cu(hfac)2LMeMe, which were inaccessible using single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. In particular, high-field EPR allowed us to determine the relative direction of the Jahn–Teller axes in CuO6 and CuO4N2 units.