Nonexponential relaxation of the metastable state of the spin-crossover system [Fe(L)2](ClO4)2.H2O [L = 2,6-Bis(pyrazol-1-ylmethyl)pyridine].

The relaxation of the metastable state of the spin-crossover compound [Fe(L)(2)](ClO(4))(2).H(2)O, with L = 2,6-bis(pyrazol-1-ylmethyl)pyridine, populated by the LIESST (light induced excited spin state trapping) effect, has been investigated by magnetic measurements. The time dependence of the relaxation curve at several temperatures, starting from different initial states, is in the shape of stretched exponentials, and the thermal variation of the photostationary state under constant photoexcitation is progressive and reversible. These features are satisfactorily modeled by considering noninteracting two-level systems with a distribution of activation energies. A suggested origin for the distribution is the conformational flexibility of the nonplanar heterocyclic ligands. The effect of the intensity distribution during the LIESST process is also accounted for in a simple way.