Metal-organic frameworks are of interest for use in a variety of electrochemical and electronic applications, although a detailed understanding of their charge transport behavior, which is of critical importance for enhancing electronic conductivities, remains limited. Herein, we report isolation of the mixed-valence framework materials, Fe(tri)(BF) (tri = 1,2,3-triazolate; x = 0.09, 0.22, and 0.33), obtained from the stoichiometric chemical oxidation of the poorly conductive iron(II) framework Fe(tri), and find that the conductivity increases dramatically with iron oxidation level. Notably, the most oxidized variant, Fe(tri)(BF), displays a room-temperature conductivity of 0.3(1) S/cm, which represents an increase of 8 orders of magnitude from that of the parent material and is one of the highest conductivity values reported among three-dimensional metal-organic frameworks. Detailed characterization of Fe(tri) and the Fe(tri)(BF) materials via powder X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and IR and UV-vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopies reveals that the high conductivity arises from intervalence charge transfer between mixed-valence low-spin Fe centers. Further, Mössbauer spectroscopy indicates the presence of a valence-delocalized Fe species in Fe(tri)(BF) at 290 K, one of the first such observations for a metal-organic framework. The electronic structure of valence-pure Fe(tri) and the charge transport mechanism and electronic structure of mixed-valence Fe(tri)(BF) frameworks are discussed in detail.

One-electron reduction of the complex [(TPyA)2Fe(II)2((NPh)L(2-))](2+) (TPyA = tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine, (NPh)LH2 = azophenine = N,N',N",N'''-tetraphenyl-2,5-diamino-1,4-diiminobenzoquinone) affords the complex [(TPyA)2Fe(II)2((NPh)L(3-•))](+). X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy confirm that the reduction occurs on (NPh)L(2-) to give an S = 1/2 radical bridging ligand. Dc magnetic susceptibility measurements demonstrate the presence of extremely strong direct antiferromagnetic exchange between S = 2 Fe(II) centers and (NPh)L(3-•) in the reduced complex, giving an S = 7/2 ground state with an estimated coupling constant magnitude of |J| ≥ 900 cm(-1). Mössbauer spectroscopy and ac magnetic susceptibility reveal that this complex behaves as a single-molecule magnet with a spin relaxation barrier of U(eff) = 50(1) cm(-1). To our knowledge, this complex exhibits by far the strongest magnetic exchange coupling ever to be observed in a single-molecule magnet.

Lithium‐ion batteries have remained a state‐of‐the‐art electrochemical energy storage technology for decades now, but their energy densities are limited by electrode materials and conventional liquid electrolytes can pose significant safety concerns. Lithium metal batteries featuring Li metal anodes, solid polymer electrolytes, and high‐voltage cathodes represent promising candidates for next‐generation devices exhibiting improved power and safety, but such solid polymer electrolytes generally do not exhibit the required excellent electrochemical properties and thermal stability in tandem. Here, an interpenetrating network polymer with weakly coordinating anion nodes that functions as a high‐performing single‐ion conducting electrolyte in the presence of minimal plasticizer, with a wide electrochemical stability window, a high room‐temperature conductivity of 1.5 × 10−4 S cm−1, and exceptional selectivity for Li‐ion conduction (tLi+ = 0.95) is reported. Importantly, this material is also flame retardant and highly stable in contact with lithium metal. Significantly, a lithium metal battery prototype containing this quasi‐solid electrolyte is shown to outperform a conventional battery featuring a polymer electrolyte.

We demonstrate the potential utility of spin crossover iron(ii) complexes as temperature-responsive paramagnetic chemical exchange saturation transfer (PARACEST) contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) thermometry.

A series of four isostructural Fe(II)2 complexes, [(TPyA)2Fe2((X)L)](2+) (TPyA = tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine; (X)L(2-) = doubly deprotonated form of 3,6-disubstituted-2,5-dianilino-1,4-benzoquinone; X = H, Br, Cl, and F), were synthesized to enable a systematic study of electronic effects on spin crossover behavior. Comparison of X-ray diffraction data for these complexes reveals the sole presence of high-spin Fe(II) at 225 K and mixtures of high-spin and low-spin Fe(II) at 100 K, which is indicative of incomplete spin crossover. In addition, crystal packing diagrams show that these complexes are well-isolated from one another in the solid state, owing primarily to the presence of bulky tetra(aryl)borate counteranions, such that spin crossover is likely not significantly affected by intermolecular interactions. Variable-temperature dc magnetic susceptibility data confirm the structural observations and reveal that 54(1), 56(1), 62(1), and 84(1)% of Fe(II) centers remain high-spin even below 65 K. Moreover, fits to magnetic data provide crossover temperatures of T1/2 = 160(1), 124(1), 121(1), and 110(1) K for X = H, Br, Cl, and F, respectively, along with enthalpies of ΔH = 11.4(3), 8.5(3), 8.3(3), and 7.5(2) kJ/mol, respectively. These parameters decrease with increasing electronegativity of X and thus increasing electron-withdrawing character of (X)L(2-), suggesting that the observed trends originate primarily from inductive effects of X. Moreover, when plotted as a function of the Pauling electronegativity of X, both T1/2 and ΔH undergo a linear decrease. Further analyses of the low-temperature magnetic data and variable-temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy suggest that the incomplete spin crossover behavior in [(TPyA)2Fe2((X)L)](2+) is best described as a transition from purely [FeHS-FeHS] (HS = high-spin) complexes at high temperature to a mixture of [FeHS-FeHS] and [FeHS-FeLS] (LS = low-spin) complexes at low temperature, with the number of [FeHS-FeHS] species increasing with decreasing electron-withdrawing character of (X)L(2-).