Substrate-dependent spin crossover in an Fe(ii) scorpionate complex

A new spin-crossover complex based on a heteroscorpionate ligand was synthesized and characterized. Thin films were grown by sublimation in an ultra-high vacuum on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and on single crystal Au (111), and spectroscopically characterized using X-ray absorption and X-ray photoemission. Temperature-dependent experiments on sub-nanometric deposits demonstrated that the thermally induced spin-crossover is preserved at a sub-monolayer (0.7 ML) coverage on HOPG, while films with similar thickness lose the switching behaviour when deposited on a Au(111) surface. The system was unresponsive to light stimuli at low temperatures independently of the used substrate.