N,N′‐Bis(2,2′‐bipyridine‐6‐ylmethyl)‐2,2′‐biphenylenediamines: A Tuneable Ligand Scaffold for Room Temperature Fe2+ SCO Complexes

Condensation and subsequent reduction of 2,2′‐diaminobiphenyls 5 with 6′‐ and 5′‐substituted 6‐carbaldehyde‐2,2′‐bipyridines 4 yielded N,N′‐bis(2,2′‐bipyridine‐6‐ylmethyl)‐2,2′‐biphenyl‐enediamines 7, which were employed as hexadendate ligands with N6 donor sets in the synthesis of dicationic [Fe2+(7‐κ6N)] complexes 8. Dependent on the substitution pattern the respective complexes are found in the HS state (8b and 8c) or show SCO behaviour. By means of temperature‐dependent susceptibility measurements, usingEvans' method, the thermodynamic parameters ΔH, ΔS and T1/2 for the SCO have been determined. T1/2 as well as ΔH are remarkably susceptible to substitution next to the central C–C bond of the biphenyl bridge.