Three members of the family of trigonal bipyramidal (TBP) complexes of general formula [M(tmphen)(2)](3)[M'(CN)(6)](2) (tmphen = 3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-1,10-phenanthroline) or [M(3)M'(2)], which are known to exhibit thermally induced spin crossover and charge transfer, have been investigated for optical and photomagnetic properties. The light-induced excited spin-state trapping (LIESST) effect found in classical spin crossover compounds, such as [Fe(phen)(2)(NCS)(2)], was explored for the [Fe(3)Fe(2)] and [Fe(3)Co(2)] compounds. Similarly, inspired by the light-induced charge-transfer properties of K(0.2)Co(1.4)[Fe(CN)(6)]*6.9H(2)O and related Prussian blue materials, the possibility of photo-induced magnetic changes was investigated for the [Co(3)Fe(2)] TBP complex. Optical reflectivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements were used to evaluate the photoactivity of these compounds. A comparison of these data before and after light irradiation demonstrates that (i) the spin crossover of the Fe(II) centers in the [Fe(3)Fe(2)] and [Fe(3)Co(2)] analogues and the (ii) charge transfer events in the [Co(3)Fe(2)] complex occur with temperature and irradiation. In addition, photomagnetic behavior is exhibited by all three compounds. The photo-conversion efficiency has been estimated at 20% of photo-induced high spin Fe(II) centers in [Fe(3)Co(2)], 30% of paramagnetic Co(II)-Fe(III) pairs in [Co(3)Fe(2)], and less than 2% of photo-induced high spin Fe(II) centers in [Fe(3)Fe(2)].< Leer menos