Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.53, No.3, 1263-1265, 2014
Selective and Reusable Iron(II)-Based Molecular Sensor for the Vapor-Phase Detection of Alcohols
A mononuclear iron(II) neutral complex (1) is screened for sensing abilities for a wide spectrum of chemicals and to evaluate the response function toward physical perturbation like temperature and mechanical stress. Interestingly, 1 precisely detects methanol among an "alcohol series. The sensing process is visually detectable, fatigue-resistant, highly selective, and reusable. The sensing ability is attributed to molecular sieving and subsequent spin-state change of iron centers, after a crystal-to-crystal transformation.