Unexpected Spin-Crossover and a Low-Pressure Phase Change in an Iron(II)/Dipyrazolylpyridine Complex Exhibiting a High-Spin Jahn- Teller Distortion

The synthesis of 4-methyl-2,6-di(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine (L) and four salts of [FeL2]X2 (X– = BF(4)(–), 1; X– = ClO(4)(–), 2; X– = PF(6)(–), 3; X– = CF3SO(3)(–), 4) are reported. Powder samples of 1 and 2 both exhibit abrupt, hysteretic spin-state transitions on cooling, with T(1/2)↓ = 204 and T(1/2)↑ = 209 K (1), and T(1/2)↓ = 175 and T(1/2)↑ = 193 K (2). The 18 K thermal hysteresis loop for 2 is unusually wide for a complex of this type. Single crystal structures of 2 show it to exhibit a Jahn–Teller-distorted six-coordinate geometry in its high-spin state, which would normally inhibit spin-crossover. Bulk samples of 1 and 2 are isostructural by X-ray powder diffraction, and undergo a crystallographic phase change during their spin-transitions. At temperatures below T(1/2), exposing both compounds to 10(–5) Torr pressure inside the powder diffractometer causes a reversible transformation back to the high-temperature crystal phase. Consideration of thermodynamic data implies this cannot be accompanied by a low → high spin-state change, however. Both compounds also exhibit the LIESST effect, with 2 exhibiting an unusually high T(LIESST) of 112 K. The salts 3 and 4 are respectively high-spin and low-spin between 3 and 300 K, with crystalline 3 exhibiting a more pronounced version of the same Jahn–Teller distortion.