The crystal chemistry of spin crossover (SCO) behavior in coordination compounds can potentially be in association with smart materials—promising materials for applications as components of memory devices, displays, sensors and mechanical devices and, especially, actuators, such as artificial muscles. This Special Issue is devoted to various aspects of SCO and related research, comprising 18 interesting original papers on valuable and important SCO topics. Significant and fundamental scientific attention has been focused on the SCO phenomena in a wide research range of fields of fundamental chemical and physical and related sciences, containing the interdisciplinary regions of chemical and physical sciences related to the SCO phenomena. Coordination materials with bistable systems between the LS and the HS states are usually triggered by external stimuli, such as temperature, light, pressure, guest molecule inclusion, soft X-ray, and nuclear decay. Since the first Hofmann-like spin crossover (SCO) behavior in {Fe(py)2[Ni(CN)4]}n (py = pyridine) was demonstrated, this crystal chemistry motif has been frequently used to design Fe(II) SCO materials to enable determination of the correlations between structural features and magnetic properties.

With contributions by numerous experts

Nucleic Acids: A Natural Target for Newly Designed Metal Chelate Based Drugs discusses how human diseases are becoming more costly to treat, along with updates on the resistance offered by disease-causing agents. The abundance of drugs in the market has provided great relief to patients, but side effects can destroy the immune system of the body. Patients need to boost their immune system, and at the same time cover expenses incurred to cure disease. Thus, a paradigm shift is needed to design a drug molecule with low cost and easy availability. Metal complexes can be a great example of such a shift, as metal ions are components of biological molecules and can achieve good binding capability to specific targets while not allowing them to damage healthy cell system. Therefore, in this book, a comprehensive compilation of recent data is provided, including the structural elucidation of metal complexes by advanced techniques and the binding pattern of metal complexes with specific targets. Focuses on recent advances and methods adopted for generating new metal-based molecules and their interactions with biomolecules, especially nucleic acids Addresses challenges for developing new metal-based drugs Examines advances in optical techniques for the characterization of metal-based drugs

The phenomenon of spin-crossover has a large impact on the physical properties of a solid material, including its colour, magnetic moment, and electrical resistance. Some materials also show a structural phase change during the transition. Several practical applications of spin-crossover materials have been demonstrated including display and memory devices, electrical and electroluminescent devices, and MRI contrast agents. Switchable liquid crystals, nanoparticles, and thin films of spin-crossover materials have also been achieved. Spin-Crossover Materials: Properties and Applications presents a comprehensivesurvey of recent developments in spin-crossover research, highlighting the multidisciplinary nature of this rapidly expanding field. Following an introductory chapter which describes the spin-crossover phenomenon and historical development of the field, the book goes on to cover a wide range of topics including Spin-crossover in mononuclear, polynuclear and polymeric complexes Structure: function relationships in molecular spin-crossover materials Charge-transfer-induced spin-transitions Reversible spin-pairing in crystalline organic radicals Spin-state switching in solution Spin-crossover compounds in multifunctional switchable materials and nanotechnology Physical and theoretical methods for studying spin-crossover materials Spin-Crossover Materials: Properties and Applications is a valuable resource for academic researchers working in the field of spin-crossover materials and topics related to crystal engineering, solid state chemistry and physics, and molecular materials. Postgraduate students will also find this book useful as a comprehensive introduction to the field.

Magnetic and spintronic materials are ubiquitous in modern technological applications, e.g. in electric motors, power generators, sensors and actuators, not to mention information storage and processing. Medical technology has also greatly benefited from magnetic materials – especially magnetic nanoparticles – for therapy and diagnostics methods. All of the above-mentioned applications rely on the properties of the materials used. These properties in turn depend on intrinsic and extrinsic material parameters. The former are related to the actual elements used and their properties, e.g. atomic magnetic moment and exchange interaction between atoms; the latter are related to the structural and microstructural properties of the materials used, e.g. their crystal structure, grain size, and grain boundary phases. Focusing on state-of-the-art magnetic and spintronic materials, this book will introduce readers to a range of related topics in Physics and Materials Science. Phenomena and processes at the nanoscale are of particular importance in this context; accordingly, much of the book addresses such topics.

The field of molecular materials represents an exciting playground for the design, tailoring, and combination of chemical building blocks as carriers of physical properties and aims at the understanding and development of novel functional molecular devices. Within this extraordinarily widespread framework, the realization of materials with the desired functionalities can only be achieved through a rational design strategy based on a solid understanding of the chemical and physical features of each constituting building block. This book provides a general overview of molecular materials, discussing their key features in a simple and organic way by focusing more on basic concepts rather than on specialized descriptions, in order to supply the non-expert reader with the immediate fundamental tools and hints to understand and develop research in this field. With this view, it is a step-by-step guide toward the preparation of functional molecular materials, where the knowledge and understanding so far attained by the scientific community through the investigation of significant archetypical examples is deconstructed down to the fundamental basis and then presented in reverse, from the base to the top.