Uranium and Manganese Assembled in a Wheel-Shaped Nanoscale Single-Molecule Magnet with High Spin-Reversal Barrier

Discrete molecular compounds that exhibit both magnetization hysteresis and slow magnetic relaxation below a characteristic ‘blocking’ temperature are known as single-molecule magnets. These are promising for applications including memory devices and quantum computing, but require higher spin-inversion barriers and hysteresis temperatures than currently achieved. After twenty years of research confined to the d- block transition metals, scientists are moving to the f-block to generate these properties. We have now prepared, by cation-promoted self-assembly, a large 5f–3d U12Mn6 cluster that adopts a wheel topology and exhibits single-molecule magnet behaviour. This uranium-based molecular wheel shows an open magnetic hysteresis loop at low temperature, with a non-zero coercive field (below 4 K) and quantum tunnelling steps (below 2.5 K), which suggests that uranium might indeed provide a route to magnetic storage devices. This molecule also represents an interesting model for actinide nanoparticles occurring in the environment and in spent fuel separation cycles.

MOUGEL Victor;  CHATELAIN Lucile;  PÉCAUT Jacques;  CACIUFFO Roberto;  COLINEAU Eric;  GRIVEAU Jean-Christophe;  MAZZANTI M.; 

2012-12-07

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP

JRC73122

1755-4330,   

http://www.nature.com/nchem/archive/subject_nchem_s9_122012.html,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC73122,   

10.1038/NCHEM.1494,