An intermetallic molecular nanomagnet with the lanthanide coordinated only by transition metals.

Magott, Michał; Brzozowska, Maria; Baran, Stanisław; Vieru, Veacheslav; Pinkowicz, Dawid · Nat Commun · 2022

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Magnetic molecules known as molecular nanomagnets (MNMs) may be the key to ultra-high density data storage. Thus, novel strategies on how to design MNMs are desirable. Here, inspired by the hexagonal structure of the hardest intermetallic magnet SmCo<sub>5</sub>, we have synthesized a nanomagnetic molecule where the central lanthanide (Ln) Er<sup>III</sup> is coordinated solely by three transition metal ions (TM) in a perfectly trigonal planar fashion. This intermetallic molecule [Er<sup>III</sup>(Re<sup>I</sup>Cp<sub>2</sub>)<sub>3</sub>] (ErRe<sub>3</sub>) starts a family of molecular nanomagnets (MNM) with unsupported Ln-TM bonds and paves the way towards molecular intermetallics with strong direct magnetic exchange interactions-a promising route towards high-performance single-molecule magnets.