Reversible Single Crystal to Single Crystal Transformation through Fe−O(H)Me/Fe−OH₂ Bond Formation/Bond Breaking in a Gas−Solid Reaction at an Ambient Condition

A single crystal of an iron compound containing a Fe−OH2 bond, on exposure to methanol vapor at an ambient condition, transforms to another single crystal with the formation of a Fe−O(H)Me covalent bond at the cost of breaking the Fe−OH2 bond. The methanol complex, upon exposure to atmospheric water vapor at room temperature, goes back to an original water-coordinated complex. The full reversibility of this gas−solid system was established by X-ray crystallography and IR spectroscopy.一种含有Fe−OH₂键的铁化合物单晶，在环境条件下暴露于甲醇蒸气中时，会转变为另一块单晶：此过程中Fe−OH₂键发生断裂，同时形成Fe−O(H)Me共价键。该甲醇配位配合物在室温下暴露于大气水蒸气中时，可复原为原始的水配位配合物。通过X射线晶体学（X-ray crystallography）与红外光谱法（IR spectroscopy），证实了该气固体系具备完全可逆性。