High-spin Fe(III) Schiff based complexes with photoactive ligands. Synthesis, EPR study and magnetic properties

A series of three novel Fe(III) compounds of the formula [FeL2]X (where X = Cl- (1), PF6- (2), NO3- (3), and L is a photoactive ligand, (4)-4-(((2-(ethylamino)ethyl)imino)methyl)-3-hydroxyphenyl 4-bromobenzoate) was synthesized and studied by means of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and pulsed laser irradiation. The Fe3+ ions in these compounds are in a high-spin state. A thorough analysis of the EPR data suggests that compounds 1 and 2 undergo an order-disorder ferroelectric phase transition, and below the phase transition temperature (T, = 100 and 200 K for compounds 1 and 2, respectively) a nonzero average electric dipole moment appears. To get an insight into molecular structure of Fe3+ ions and their supramolecular organization in low-temperature (LT) and high-temperature (HT) phases of compounds 1 and 2, a series of density functional theory calculations was performed. On the basis of our findings, the LT- and HT-phase structures were proposed for these compounds. It was also shown that, whereas the chloride and hexafluorophosphate anions are able to form a network of hydrogen bonds between the [FeLdX units (ionic pairs), which enable an electric dipole ordering in the sample, the nitrate anions, in contrast, tend to form hydrogen bonds inside the ionic pair. This conclusion is evidenced by the observed EPR spectra, which are different for compound 3 and are not indicative of the existence of an order-disorder ferroelectric phase transition. The EPR data obtained upon irradiation of compound 1 show that photoexcitation in the UV region at 5 K destroys hydrogen bonds and converts cationic complexes into ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) states, in which the iron is ferrous, and the unpaired electron is located on the salicylidene moieties. The LMCT states decay back to the ferric one, and ferric complexes further form the most stable (LT) phase structure. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.