Spatio-temporal Investigations of the Incomplete Spin Transition in a Single Crystal of [Fe(2-pytrz)2{Pt(CN)4}]·3H2O: Experiment and Theory

International audienceOptical microscopy technique is used to investigate the thermal and the spatio-temporal properties of the spin-crossover single crystal [Fe(2-pytrz) 2 {Pt(CN) 4 }]·3H 2 O, which exhibits a first-order spin transition from a full high-spin (HS) state at high temperature to an intermediate, high-spin low-spin (HS-LS) state, below 153 K, where only one of the two crystallographic Fe(II) centers switches from the HS to HS-LS state. In comparison with crystals undergoing a complete spin transition, the present transformation involves smaller volume changes at the transition, which helps to preserving the crystal’s integrity. By analyzing the spatio-temporal properties of this spin transition, we evidenced a direct correlation between the orientation and shape of HS/HS-LS domain wall with the crystal’s shape. Thanks to the small volume change accompanying this spin transition, the analysis of the experimental data by an anisotropic reaction-diffusion model becomes very relevant and leads to an excellent agreement with the experimental observations