Correlations of the distribution of spin states in spin crossover compounds

Abstract Short range correlations of the distribution of high spin (HS) and low spin (LS) states show up in thermal spin transition curves, decay curves of the light induced metastable HS state (LIESST state), and in structural features during the spin transitions. Correlations are due to short range interactions between the spin crossover molecules. Short range interactions may compete with omnipresent long range interactions and give rise to interesting spin transition phenomena. In this paper, the effect of correlations on the thermal spin transition in the mixed crystal system [Fe x Zn 1− x (pic) 3 ]Cl 2 ·EtOH (pic=picolylamine) is discussed. In particular the step in the thermal transi…