Chiral porous CN-bridged coordination polymer mimicking MOF-74 and showing magnetization photoswitching

A chiral porous cyanide-bridged framework {[MnII(L)]2[WIV(CN)8]·10H2O}n (1; L = 2,6-bis[1-(2-(N-methylamino)ethylimino)ethyl]-pyridine) showing a strong structural similarity to MOF-74 has been prepared and characterised. The crystallised water molecules can be easily removed below 60 °C, leading to a distinct crystal colour change and the activation of its photomagnetic properties – constituting the so called photomagnetic sponge behaviour of this system. The complete dehydration of 1 proceeds through a single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation and the resulting anhydrous framework {[MnII(L)]2[WIV(CN)8]}n (1anh) was studied using single-crystal X-ray diffraction.