Structural, magnetic and Mössbauer spectroscopic studies of the [Fe(3-bpp)2](CF3COO)2 complex: role of crystal packing leading to an incomplete Fe(ii) high spin low spin transition

Abstract

Single crystal X-ray diffraction, magnetic and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopic studies of a new iron(II)-based spin transition complex – [Fe(3-bpp)₂](CF₃COO)₂ (bpp = 2,6-bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine) are reported. The complex exhibits an incomplete thermal high spin (HS) low spin (LS) transition at ∼226 K which is not associated with any crystallographic transition. Only one of the two crystallographic iron(II) sites undergoes the spin transition, while the other HS site remains invariant of temperature down to 10 K. The origin of the incomplete spin transition is understood by analysing the nature of crystal packing below and above the transition temperature with special attention to the degree of distortion. The present study shows the role of the degree of distortion associated with the cations in the [Fe(3-bpp)₂]²⁺ spin transition complexes.