Truchet-tile structure of a topologically aperiodic metal-organic framework.

When tiles decorated to lower their symmetry are joined together, they can form aperiodic and labyrinthine patterns. Such Truchet tilings offer an efficient mechanism of visual data storage related to that used in barcodes and QR codes. We show that the crystalline metal-organic framework [OZn][1,3-benzenedicarboxylate] (TRUMOF-1) is an atomic-scale realization of a complex three-dimensional Truchet tiling.

Two-step spin crossover by guest-disorder induced local symmetry breaking within a 3D Hofmann-like framework.

A 3D Hofmann-like metal-organic framework has been prepared which contains a 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole-based pillaring ligand. Encapsulation of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, chrysene, within the pore structure leads to a new pathway to multi-step spin crossover behaviour in which the observed two-step spin transition arises due to the presence of multiple site environments associated with local guest positional effects within the host lattice.

Guest-Induced Multistep to Single-Step Spin-Crossover Switching in a 2-D Hofmann-Like Framework with an Amide-Appended Ligand.

A detailed study of the two-dimensional (2-D) Hofmann-like framework [Fe(furpy)Pd(CN)]·G (furpy: -(pyridin-4-yl)furan-2-carboxamide, G = HO,EtOH (·HO,Et), and HO (·HO)) is presented, including the structural and spin-crossover (SCO) implications of subtle guest modification. This 2-D framework is characterized by undulating Hofmann layers and an array of interlayer spacing environments─this is a strategic approach that we achieve by the inclusion of a ligand with multiple host-host and host-guest interaction sites. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility studies reveal an asymmetric multistep SCO for ·HO,Et and an abrupt single-step SCO for ·HO with an upshift in transition temperature of ∼75 K.

Co-existence of five- and six-coordinate iron(II) species captured in a geometrically strained spin-crossover Hofmann framework.

Inclusion of an angular bridging ligand, 4,2':6',4''-terpyridine (TPy), into a Hofmann-type framework produces an irregular network in which six- and five-coordinate Fe species co-exist. The octahedral sites show thermally-induced spin-crossover (SCO) and the rare five-coordinate Fe sites are high-spin.

Regulation of Multistep Spin Crossover Across Multiple Stimuli in a 2-D Framework Material.

We investigate the effects of a broad array of external stimuli on the structural, spin-crossover (SCO) properties and nature of the elastic interaction within the two-dimensional Hofmann framework material [Fe(cintrz)Pd(CN)]·guest (cintrz = -cinnamalidene 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole; ·guest; guest = 3HO, 2HO, and Ø). This framework exhibits a delicate balance between ferro- and antiferro-elastic interaction characters; we show that manipulation of the pore contents across guests = 3HO, 2HO, and Ø can be exploited to regulate this balance. In ·3HO, the dominant antiferroelastic interaction character between neighboring Fe sites sees the low-temperature persistence of the mixed spin-state species {HS-LS} for {Fe1-Fe2} (HS = high spin, LS = low spin).