Nature Communications (May 2024)

Tracking nuclear motion in single-molecule magnets using femtosecond X-ray absorption spectroscopy

  • Kyle Barlow,
  • Ryan Phelps,
  • Julien Eng,
  • Tetsuo Katayama,
  • Erica Sutcliffe,
  • Marco Coletta,
  • Euan K. Brechin,
  • Thomas J. Penfold,
  • J. Olof Johansson

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48411-0
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

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Abstract The development of new data storage solutions is crucial for emerging digital technologies. Recently, all-optical magnetic switching has been achieved in dielectrics, proving to be faster than traditional methods. Despite this, single-molecule magnets (SMMs), which are an important class of magnetic materials due to their nanometre size, remain underexplored for ultrafast photomagnetic switching. Herein, we report femtosecond time-resolved K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (TR-XAS) on a Mn(III)-based trinuclear SMM. Exploiting the elemental specificity of XAS, we directly track nuclear dynamics around the metal ions and show that the ultrafast dynamics upon excitation of a crystal-field transition are dominated by a magnetically active Jahn-Teller mode. Our results, supported by simulations, reveal minute bond length changes from 0.01 to 0.05 Å demonstrating the sensitivity of the method. These geometrical changes are discussed in terms of magneto-structural relationships and consequently our results illustrate the importance of TR-XAS for the emerging area of ultrafast molecular magnetism.