Spin crossover active iron(II) complexes of selected pyrazole-pyridine/pyrazine ligands

This review begins with a brief introduction to pyrazole and to spin crossover. The focus then moves to a detailed consideration of the synthesis and magnetic properties of structurally characterized iron(II) spin crossover (SCO) active complexes of pyrazole- and pyrazolate-based ligands that also contain at least one pyridine or pyrazine unit within the ligand motif. The syntheses and crystallization methods reported in the original publications are emphasized in this review. The reason for this is that these factors often affect the exact nature of the final product, including the amount and nature of the crystallization solvent molecules present and/or what polymorph is obtained, and hence they can impact strongly on the SCO properties of the resulting materials, as can be seen in this review. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.