Magnetic Ground-State and Systematic X-ray Photoreduction Studies of an Iron-Based Star-Shaped Complex

We revisit the star-shaped iron-based single-molecule magnet [FeIII{FeIII(L)2}3] (2) (exact chemical formula C30H66Fe4N6O12, H2L = N-methyldiethanolamine) in order to clarify some open questions concerning the exact electronic and magnetic properties arising from earlier studies on this specific compound. Namely, we address the internal magnetic structure by applying X-ray magnetic circular dichroism to the Fe L2,3 edges and carefully investigate radiation photochemistry. We observe an Fe3+ to Fe2+ photoreduction process, taking place under soft X-ray radiation.