A systematic analysis was conducted to explore the spin-state
energetics
of a series of 19 FeN4 complexes. The performance of a
large number of multireference methods was assessed, highlighting
the significant challenges associated with accurately describing the
spin-state energetics of FeN4 complexes. Most multireference
methods were found to be susceptible to errors originating from the
reference CASSCF wavefunction, leading to an overstabilization of
high-spin states. Nonetheless, a few multireference methods, namely,
CASPT2/CC, DSRG-MRPT3, and LDSRG(2), demonstrated promising performance
compared to the benchmark CCSD(T) method. Furthermore, our study revealed
that FeN4 complexes having a quintet ground state are exceedingly
rare. Accordingly, only one specific model (Fe(L2)) and
one synthesized complex (Fe(OTBP)) have the quintet ground state among
the studied complexes. This scarcity of quintet FeN4 complexes
highlights the unique nature of these systems and raises intriguing
questions regarding the factors influencing spin states, such as the
size of the macrocycle cavity, the introduction of substituents, or
the induction of out-of-plane deformation.