A light-induced spin crossover actuated single-chain magnet

Both spin-crossover complexes and molecular nanomagnets display bistable magnetic states, potentially behaving as elementary binary units for information storage. It is a challenge to introduce spin-crossover units into molecular nanomagnets to switch the bistable state of the nanomagnets through external stimuli-tuned spin crossover. Here we report an iron(II) spin-crossover unit and paramagnetic iron(III) ions that are incorporated into a well-isolated double-zigzag chain. The chain exhibits thermally induced reversible spin-crossover and light-induced excited spin-state trapping at the iron(II) sites. Single-chain magnet behaviour is actuated accompanying the synergy between light-induced excited spin-state trapping at the iron(II) sites and ferromagnetic interactions between the photoinduced high-spin iron(II) and low-spin iron(III) ions in the chain. The result provides a strategy to switch the bistable state of molecular nanomagnets using external stimuli such as light and heat, with the potential to erase and write information at a molecular level.