A hard molecular nanomagnet from confined paramagnetic 3d-4f spins inside a fullerene cage.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38114506.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-44194-y and PMC identifier 10730828.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
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 (Dy<sub>2</sub>VN) inside a C<sub>80</sub> 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 Dy<sub>2</sub>VN@I<sub>h</sub>(7)-C<sub>80</sub>. These reduced distances result in an enhanced magnetic coupling (J<sub>total, Dy-V</sub> = 53.30 cm<sup>-1</sup>; J<sub>total, Dy-Dy</sub> = -6.25 cm<sup>-1</sup>), 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.