A thermochromic 1D spin crossover coordination (SCO) polymer [Fe(βAlatrz)3](BF4)2⋅2 H2O (1⋅2 H2O), whose precursor βAlatrz, (1,2,4-triazol-4-yl-propionate) has been tailored from a β-amino acid ester is investigated in detail by a set of superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), (57)Fe Mössbauer, differential scanning calorimetry, infrared, and Raman measurements. An hysteretic abrupt two-step spin crossover (T1/2(↓) = 230 K and T1/2(↑) = 235 K, and T1/2(↓) = 172 K and T1/2(↑) = 188 K, respectively) is registered for the first time for a 1,2,4-triazole-based Fe(II) 1D coordination polymer. The two-step SCO configuration is observed in a 1:2 ratio of low-spin/high-spin in the intermediate phase for a 1D chain. The origin of the stepwise transition was attributed to a distribution of chains of different lengths in 1⋅2 H2O after First Order Reversal Curves (FORC) analyses. A detailed DFT analysis allowed us to propose the normal mode assignment of the Raman peaks in the low-spin and high-spin states of 1⋅2 H2O. Vibrational spectra of 1⋅2 H2O reveal that the BF4(-) anions and water molecules play no significant role on the vibrational properties of the [Fe(βAlatrz)3](2+) polymeric chains, although non-coordinated water molecules have a dramatic influence on the emergence of a step in the spin transition curve. The dehydrated material [Fe(βAlatrz)3](BF4)2 (1) reveals indeed a significantly different magnetic behavior with a one-step SCO which was also investigated.
Keywords: coordination polymers; density functional calculations; magnetic properties; spin crossover; vibrational spectroscopy.
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