Surface effects on a photochromic spin-crossover iron(ii) molecular switch adsorbed on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite
Thin films of an iron(ii) complex with a photochromic diarylethene-based ligand and featuring a spin-crossover behaviour have been grown by sublimation in ultra-high vacuum on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite and spectroscopically characterized through high-resolution X-ray and ultraviolet photoemission, as well as via X-ray absorption. Temperature-dependent studies demonstrated that the thermally induced spin-crossover is preserved at a sub-monolayer (0.7 ML) coverage.