Octacyanidotungstate(IV) Coordination Chains Demonstrate a Light‐Induced Excited Spin State Trapping Behavior and Magnetic Exchange Photoswitching

A huge increase in the magnetization of two coordination chains based on tetravalent octacyanidometalates (W^IV and Mo^IV) is observed on irradiation with 436 nm light, while no such behavior is observed for the Nb^IV analogue. A photomagnetic response based solely on [W^IV(CN)₈]⁴⁻ is demonstrated for the first time. The observed behavior is attributed to the light‐induced excited spin state trapping (LIESST) effect at the octacyanidometalate, and to the resulting magnetic exchange ON/OFF photoswitching between the Mn^II center and the photoinduced high‐spin (S =1) W^IV or Mo^IV centers.