Redox-tunable valence tautomerism in a cobalt Schiff base complex.

A new switching molecular array that interconverts reversibly either by thermal means (valence tautomerism) or by a reversible oxidation process has been established. Such an array is based on the rich electrochemical behavior of the cobalt Schiff base complex 2. The Schiff base ligand can exist in different oxidation forms that interconvert reversibly by means of redox processes and that can be used to obtain stable coordination complexes.