On/Off Photoswitching in a Cyanide-Bridged {Fe2Co2} Magnetic Molecular Square

A repeatable bidirectional paramagnetic <-> diamagnetic photomagnetic effect has been observed in the cyanide-bridged Fe-Co square complex {[Fe{B(pz)(4)}-(CN)(3)](2)[Co(bik)(2)](2)}(ClO4)(2)center dot 3H(2)O [B(pz)(4) = tetrapyrazolylborate, bik = bis(1-methylimidazol-2-yl)ketone]. Magnetic measurements and low-temperature single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments have shown that a complete electron transfer from the diamagnetic Fe-II -Co (III) state to the paramagnetic Fe-III -Co (II) metastable state is induced by 808 nm laser light irradiation, whereas the diamagnetic state is recovered in an almost quantitative yield under irradiation at 532 nm.