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Spin-state switching of transition-metal complexes (spin crossover) is sensitive to a variety of tiny perturbations. It is often found to be suppressed for molecules directly adsorbed on solid surfaces. We present X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements of a submonolayer of Fe (II) (NCS) 2L (L: 1-6-1, 1-di (pyridin-2-yl) ethyl-pyridin-2-yl-N, N-dimethylmethanamine) deposited on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite substrate in ultrahigh vacuum. These molecules undergo a thermally induced, fully reversible, gradual spin crossover with a transition temperature of T1/2 = 235 (6) K and a transition width of ΔT80 = 115 (8) K. Our results show that by using a carbon-based substrate the spin-crossover behavior can be preserved even for molecules that are in direct contact with a solid surface.
Bernien et al. (Wed,) studied this question.