Optical and magneto-optical properties of spin coated films of novel trinuclear bis(oxamato) and bis(oxamidato) type complexes

This work reports the first example of the spectroscopic measurements of the Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect (MOKE) of films being composed of trinuclear transition metal complexes on a non-transparent substrate at room temperature. The thin films of the tailor-made trinuclear bis(oxamidato) type complex 5 ([Cu3(opbonPr2)(tmcd)2(NO3)2], opbonPr2 = o-phenylenebis(N'-npropyloxamido, tmcd=trans-(1 R,2 R)-N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-cyclohexanediamine) and of the bis(oxamato) type complexes 11 ([Cu2Ni(opbaCF3)(pmdta)2(NO3)2], opbaCF3 = 4-trifluoromethyl-o-phenylenebis(oxamato), pmdta = N,N,N,′N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine) and 12 ([Cu3(opba)(bppe)2(NO3)2] (opba = o-phenylenebis(oxamato), bppe = S-N,N-bis(2-picolyl)−1-phenylethylamine) were fabricated by spin-coating and their thicknesses in the range between 0.5 µm and 2 µm was determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry. Based on the spectroscopic ellipsometry results it was also possible to determine the optical constants of the film and compare them with the absorption of the complexes in solution in order to confirm the complex integrity after the film deposition. The fabrication of high-quality films which exhibit Kerr rotation up to 0.2 mrad (11.5 mdeg) was only possible due to tailor-made synthesis, which allows circumventing intermolecular interactions of the trinuclear complexes during the film formation.