The magnetic properties of many magnetic materials can be controlled by external stimuli. The principal focus here is on the thermal, photochemical, electrochemical, and chemical control of phase transitions that involve changes in magnetization. The molecular compounds described herein range from metal complexes, through pure organic compounds to composite materials. Most of the Review is devoted to the properties of valence-tautomeric compounds, molecular magnets, and spin-crossover complexes, which could find future application in memory devices or optical switches.

Control of magnetic properties through external stimuli.

The literature has shown numerous contributions on the synthesis and physicochemical properties of persistent organic radicals but there are a lesser number of reports about their use as building blocks for obtaining molecular magnetic materials exhibiting an additional and useful physical property or function. These materials show promise for applications in spintronics as well as bistable memory devices and sensing materials. This critical review provides an up-to-date survey to this new generation of multifunctional magnetic materials. For this, a detailed revision of the most common families of persistent organic radicals—nitroxide, triphenylmethyl, verdazyl, phenalenyl, and dithiadiazolyl—so far reported will be presented, classified into three different sections: materials with magnetic, conducting and optical properties. An additional section reporting switchable materials based on these radicals is presented (257 references).

Playing with organic radicals as building blocks for functional molecular materials

Many kinds of radicals are stable enough to isolate, handle, and store without any special precautions. The diversity in molecular architectures of these stable radicals is sufficiently large that the common factors governing radical stability/persistence, geometric and electronic structure, association/dimerization preferences, and reactivity have generally not been well articulated or appreciated. This review provides a survey of the major classes of stable or persistent organic/organomain group radicals with a view to presenting a unified description of the interdependencies between radical molecular structure and properties.

What's new in stable radical chemistry?

Organochalcogen-nitrogen heterocycles such as the 1,2,5-chalcogenadiazoles have a distinct tendency to establish intermolecular links in the solid state through secondary bonding interactions E...N (E = S, Se, Te). The association of these molecules was examined in detail using relativistic density functional theory. Although there is an important electrostatic component, the interaction between these molecules is dominated by contributions arising from orbital mixing, which can be interpreted as the donation of a nitrogen lone pair into the chalcogen-centered antibonding orbitals. Because of its more polar character and lower-lying antibonding orbitals, the tellurium derivatives possess the strongest association energies; these are so large that the binding strength is comparable to that of some hydrogen bonds. In the absence of steric constraints, telluradiazoles associate in a coplanar fashion forming ribbon polymers. However, bulky susbstituents could be used to direct the formation of either helical chains or discrete dimers. In addition to its strength, the coplanar dimer is characterized by being rigid, yet no activation barrier is expected for the association/dissociation process. These attributes strongly indicate that tellurium-nitrogen heterocycles have great potential as building blocks in supramolecular architecture.

The nature of the supramolecular association of 1,2,5-chalcogenadiazoles.

This review describes recent advances in the development of thiazyl radicals, particularly dithiadiazolyl (RCNSSN) and dithiazolyl (RCSNSCR) as molecule-based materials. Particular emphasis is placed on their potential applications as molecular conductors, magnets and switchable materials and incorporates an overview of the structure–property relationships required in these molecular systems.

Thiazyl radicals: old materials for new molecular devices

The characterization of the heterocyclic radical 1,2,5-thiadiazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,2-dithiazolo[3,4-b]pyrazin-2-yl (TDP-DTA) is described. The compound is prepared by treatment of 5,6-dithiolo-1,2,5-thiadiazolo[3,4-b]pyrazine with S3N3Cl3 and purified by fractional sublimation in vacuo. The results of cyclic voltammetry and ESR analysis of TDP-DTA and related heterocyclic dithiazolyls indicate that the spin distributions and donor/acceptor properties of these radicals are extremely sensitive to the nature of the 4,5-substituents. The crystal structure of TDP-DTA has been determined at two temperatures. At 293 K, the crystals are triclinic, space group P1, with a = 4.4456(8), b = 8.407(2), c = 9.671(3) A, α = 71.34(2), β = 89.28(2), γ = 87.80(2)°, Z = 2 (for C4N5S3); at 150 K the crystals are triclinic, space group P1, with a = 7.489(7), b = 9.593(4), c = 10.759(6) A, α = 65.77(4), β = 74.10(6), γ = 74.64(6)°, Z = 2 (for C8N10S6). At 293 K the structure consists of ribbons of TDP-DTA radicals packed in a slip...

a T. M. Barclay

Papers

Redox, magnetic, and structural properties of 1,3,2-dithiazolyl radicals. a case study on the ternary heterocycle s3n5c4