A hard molecular nanomagnet from confined paramagnetic 3d-4f spins inside a fullerene cage

Chenli Huang; Rong Sun; Lipiao Bao; Xinyue Tian; Changwang Pan; Mengyang Li; Wangqiang Shen; Kun Guo; Bingwu Wang; Xing Lu; Song Gao

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-44194-y

Nature Communications (Dec 2023)

A hard molecular nanomagnet from confined paramagnetic 3d-4f spins inside a fullerene cage

Chenli Huang,
Rong Sun,
Lipiao Bao,
Xinyue Tian,
Changwang Pan,
Mengyang Li,
Wangqiang Shen,
Kun Guo,
Bingwu Wang,
Xing Lu,
Song Gao

Affiliations

Chenli Huang: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Rong Sun: Beijing National Laboratory of Molecular Science, State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Materials Chemistry and Applications, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University
Lipiao Bao: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Xinyue Tian: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Changwang Pan: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Mengyang Li: School of Physics, Xidian University
Wangqiang Shen: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Kun Guo: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Bingwu Wang: Beijing National Laboratory of Molecular Science, State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Materials Chemistry and Applications, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University
Xing Lu: State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Song Gao: Beijing National Laboratory of Molecular Science, State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Materials Chemistry and Applications, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44194-y
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 8

Abstract

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Abstract Reducing inter-spin distance can enhance magnetic interactions and allow for the realization of outstanding magnetic properties. However, achieving reduced distances is technically challenging. Here, we construct a 3d-4f metal cluster (Dy2VN) inside a C80 cage, affording a heretofore unseen metallofullerene containing both paramagnetic 3d and 4f metal ions. The significantly suppressed 3d-4f (Dy-V) distances, due to the unique cage confinement effect, were observed by crystallographic and theoretical analysis of Dy2VN@I h (7)-C80. These reduced distances result in an enhanced magnetic coupling (J total, Dy-V = 53.30 cm−1; J total, Dy-Dy = −6.25 cm−1), leading to a high magnetic blocking temperature compared to reported 3d-4f single-molecule magnets and strong coercive field of 2.73 Tesla. Our work presents a new class of single-molecule magnets with both paramagnetic 3d and 4f metals confined in a fullerene cage, offering superior and tunable magnetic properties due to the unique cage confinement effect and the diverse composition of the entrapped magnetic core.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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