η 2 -SO 2 Linkage Photoisomer of an Osmium Coordination Complex
We report the discovery of an n 2 -SO 2 linkage photoisomer in the osmium pentaammine coordination complex, [Os(NH 3 ) 5 (SO 2 )][Os(NH 3 ) 5 (SO 3 )]Cl 4 (1). Its dark and light-induced crystal structures are determined via synchrotron X-ray crystallography, at 100K, where the photo-induced state is metastable in a single crystal that has been stimulated by 505 nm light for 2.5 hrs. The SO 2 photoisomer in the [Os(NH 3 ) 5 (SO 2 )] 2+ cation contrasts starkly with the photo-inactivity of the SO 3 ligand in its companion [Os(NH 3 ) 5 (SO 3 )] 2+ cation within the crystallographic asymmetric unit of this single crystal. Panchromatic optical absorption characteristics of this single crystal are revealed in both dark and light-induced states, using concerted absorption spectroscopy and optical microscopy. Its optical absorption halves across most of its visible spectrum, upon exposure to 505nm light. The SO 2 ligand seems to be responsible for this photo-induced bleaching effect, judging from a comparison of the dark and light-induced crystal structures of 1. The SO 2 linkage photo-isomerism is found to be thermally reversible and so this complex presents a rare example of an osmium-based solid-state optical switch. Such switching in an osmium-based complex is significant be-cause bottom-row transition metals stand to offer linkage photo-isomerism with the greatest photo-conversion levels and thermal stability. Furthermore, the demonstration of n 2 -SO 2 bonding in this complex also represents a fundamental contribution to osmium coordination chemistry