Magneto-optical coupling provides a powerful alternative to crystal field engineering for modulating Mn2+ luminescence. However, precise control over Mn-Mn coupling is hindered by the complex spin-electron super-exchange interactions. Herein, we report a symmetry-broken Mn(II) chloride dimer, (C10H20O5Mn)(CH3CN)MnCl4, synthesized through a crown-ether-assisted supramolecular strategy. The dimer features a 7-coordinated pentagonal bipyramid and a 4-coordinated tetrahedron linked by a distorted Mn-Cl-Mn bridge (129°), which promotes rare spin-canted Mn-Mn coupling and creates a novel Mn-Mn luminescent center. This center exhibits a red emission at 638 nm with an unusually short lifetime of 0.42 ms, which is attributed to the relaxation of spin-forbidden d-d transitions. Notably, the emission undergoes a 30 nm blue-shift upon heating (5-305 K) due to the thermal suppression of spin-canting, and a 40 nm blue-shift under applied pressure (0-20 MPa) resulting from reduced orbital overlap. This dual-responsive luminescence originates from spin-canted weak ferromagnetism, which induces a rearrangement of energy-levels by separating antibonding orbitals. Using this effect, we have demonstrated an optical manometer for real-time underwater depth sensing. These findings highlight spin-canted Mn(II) dimers as a promising platform for stimuli-responsive luminescence and reveal a new mechanism for d-d transition modulation.
Zhou et al. (2026) studied this question.