Electronic Properties and Surface Interactions of Manganese and Iron Spin Crossover Complexes

This thesis reports the synthesis and investigation of a number of Mn(III) and Fe(III) complexes with hexadentate Schiff base ligands containing an N4O2 donor set. These types of compounds display notable intrinsic electronic properties, including spin lability and easy access to multiple oxidation states, which were systematically investigated from a fundamental perspective. Although the field of spin-switchable materials has expanded in recent years beyond the traditionally studied Fe(II) centres, further exploration of complexes stable under ambient conditions remains valuable. Moreover, there is growing interest in developing new hybrid materials that integrate multiple functionalities, with the aim of advancing future materials design. The electronic properties of the synthesized complexes make them promising candidates for integration with surfaces exhibiting complementary functionalities. In this work, two types of surfaces were explored: semiconductors, relevant for their role in dye-sensitized solar cells, and magnetoresistive substrates, noted for their unique transport properties.