Strain Switching in van der Waals Heterostructures triggered by a Spin-Crossover Metal Organic Framework

Van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) combine different layered materials with properties of interest,1 such as two-dimensional (2D) semimetals, semiconductors, magnets or superconductors. These heterostructures provide the possibility of engineering new materials with emergent functionalities that are not accessible in another way. Beyond inorganic 2D materials, layered molecular materials remain still rather unexplored, with only few examples regarding their isolation as atomically thin-layers. By a proper chemical design, the physical properties of these systems can be tuned, as illustrated by the so-called spin-crossover (SCO) compounds, in which a spin transition can be induced by app…