Inorganic Chemistry

The research of the Weber group focuses on molecules that can be switched by various external stimuli. The phenomena that can be observed are spin crossover (SCO), coordination-induced destacking (CID) and coordination-induced spin state switch (CISSS). In all cases, an external stimulus (e.g. physical parameters such as temperature, pressure, light irradiation or chemical parameters such as gas molecules, pH value) triggers a sharply contrasting change in the material properties (e.g. colour, magnetism, bond lengths, luminescence). The underlying mechanisms are the subject of ongoing research and are among the central questions of the recently acquired priority programme SPP 2491 ISS ‘Interactive switching of spin states’.