Photochromism and Photomagnetism of a 3d-4f Hexacyanoferrate at Room Temperature

Li-Zhen Cai; Qing-Song Chen; Cui-Juan Zhang; Pei-Xin Li; Ming-Sheng Wang; Guo-Cong Guo

doi:10.1021/jacs.5b05320

Photochromism and Photomagnetism of a 3d-4f Hexacyanoferrate at Room Temperature

J Am Chem Soc. 2015 Sep 2;137(34):10882-5. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5b05320. Epub 2015 Aug 24.

Authors

Li-Zhen Cai¹, Qing-Song Chen¹, Cui-Juan Zhang¹, Pei-Xin Li¹, Ming-Sheng Wang¹, Guo-Cong Guo¹

Affiliation

¹ State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China.

PMID: 26284651
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b05320

Abstract

Polycyanometallate compounds with both photochromism and photomagnetism have appealing applications in optical switches and memories, but such optical behaviors were essentially restricted to the cryogenic temperature. We realized, for the first time, the photochromism and photomagnetism of 3d-4f hexacyanoferrates at room temperature (RT) in [Eu(III)(18C6)(H2O)3]Fe(III)(CN)6·2H2O (18C6 = 18-crown-6). Photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from crown to Fe(III) yields long-lived charge-separated species at RT in air in the solid state and also weakens the magnetic susceptibility significantly. The PET mechanism and changing trend of photomagnetism differ significantly from those reported for known 3d-4f hexacyanoferrates. This work not only develops a new type of inorganic-organic hybrid photochromic material but opens a new avenue for RT photomagnetic polycyanometallate compounds.