Our research

MOST

Photo- and thermoswitchable coordination compounds

Coordination polymers and Metal Organic Frameworks

Spin crossover phenomena

Molecular switches, molecular bistability

Organic solid state chemistry and crystal engineering

Dynamic phenomena and phase transitions in the solid state

and, for the time being, our team is conducting several researches in advanced inorganic chemistry:

Bistable molecular magnetic materials exhibiting cooperative spin transitions in view of their potential practical applications (display and data processing, sensors, ...).

  • Design and set up of new routes for the organic synthesis of azole based molecules.
  • Syntheses and characterization of supramolecular azole based polynuclear systems.
  • Structural, magnetic, optical and calorimetric investigation of these systems by relevant physical methods (XRD, Mössbauer, DSC, magnetometry, diffuse reflectance …).
  • Preparation of thin films and nanostructuration.

Crystal engineering of supramolecular functional coordination networks

  • Coordination polymers, metal organic frameworks.
  • Hybrid magnetic materials with multifunctional properties (luminescence, photochromism, porosity ...).

Switchable coordination compounds

  • Design, syntheses and crystal engineering of new molecular switches (salicylidene anilines, diarylethene derivatives, ...).
  • Investigation of their optical (fluorescence, photochromism, thermochromism) and structural properties.
  • Syntheses of polynuclear coordination compounds including bistable molecular switches.
  • Investigation of their optical and magnetic properties (fluorescence, photochromism, photomagnetism).

Investigation of magnetic molecular materials by muon spin relaxation (in collaboration with Dr. James S. Lord, ISIS UK and Prof. Dr. Stewart J. Campbell, ADFA, Australia) and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy

  • Tracking of electronic spin crossovers in transition metal complexes.
  • Study of dynamic processes in the solid state.