Molecule-based magnets (MBMs) or molecular magnets are a class of materials capable of displaying
ferromagnetism and other more complex magnetic phenomena. This class expands the materials properties typically associated with magnets to include low density,
transparency,
electrical insulation, and low-temperature fabrication, as well as combine magnetic ordering with other properties such as
photoresponsiveness. Essentially all of the common magnetic phenomena associated with conventional transition-metal magnets and
rare-earth magnets can be found in molecule-based magnets.[1][2] Prior to 2011, MBMs were seen to exhibit "magnetic ordering with
Curie temperature (Tc) exceeding room temperature".[2][3]
History
The first synthesis and characterization of MBMs was accomplished by Wickman and co-workers in 1967. This was a diethyldithiocarbamate-Fe(III) chloride compound.[4][5]
In February 1992, Gatteschi and
Sessoli published on MBMs with particular attention to the fabrication of systems in which stable
organic radicals are coupled to
metal ions.[6] At that date, the highest Tc on record was measured by
SQUID magnetometer as 30K.[7]
The field exploded in 1996 with the publication of the book "Molecular Magnetism: From Molecular Assemblies to the Devices".[8]
In February 2007, de Jong et al. grew thin-film
TCNE MBM in situ,[9] while in September 2007, photoinduced magnetism was demonstrated in a TCNE organic-based magnetic semiconductor.[10]
The June 2011 issue of Chemical Society Reviews was devoted to MBMs. In the editorial, written by Miller and Gatteschi, are mentioned
TCNE and above-room-temperature magnetic ordering along with many other unusual properties of MBMs.[2]
Theory
The mechanism by which molecule-based magnets stabilize and display a net magnetic moment is different than that present in traditional metal- and ceramic-based magnets. For metallic magnets, the unpaired electrons align through
quantum mechanical effects (termed exchange) by virtue of the way in which the electrons fill the orbitals of the
conductive band. For most oxide-based ceramic magnets, the unpaired electrons on the metal centers align via the intervening
diamagnetic bridging oxide (termed
superexchange). The magnetic moment in molecule-based magnets is typically stabilized by one or more of three main mechanisms:[citation needed]
Through space or dipolar coupling
Exchange between orthogonal (non-overlapping) orbitals in the same spatial region
Net moment via antiferromagnetic coupling of non-equal spin centers (
ferrimagnetism)
In general, molecule-based magnets tend to be of low dimensionality. Classic magnetic alloys based on iron and other ferromagnetic materials feature
metallic bonding, with all atoms essentially bonded to all nearest neighbors in the
crystal lattice. Thus, critical temperatures at which point these classical magnets cross over to the ordered magnetic state tend to be high, since interactions between spin centers is strong. Molecule-based magnets, however, have spin bearing units on molecular entities, often with highly directional bonding. In some cases, chemical bonding is restricted to one dimension (chains). Thus, interactions between spin centers are also limited to one dimension, and ordering temperatures are much lower than metal/alloy-type magnets. Also, large parts of the magnetic material are essentially diamagnetic, and contribute nothing to the net magnetic moment.[citation needed]
Molecule-based magnets comprise a class of materials which differ from conventional magnets in one of several ways. Most traditional magnetic materials are comprised purely of metals (Fe, Co, Ni) or metal oxides (CrO2) in which the unpaired electrons spins that contribute to the net
magnetic moment reside only on metal atoms in d- or f-type orbitals.[citation needed]
In molecule-based magnets, the structural building blocks are molecular in nature. These building blocks are either purely
organic molecules,
coordination compounds or a combination of both. In this case, the unpaired electrons may reside in d or f orbitals on isolated metal atoms, but may also reside in highly localized s and p orbitals as well on the purely organic species. Like conventional magnets, they may be classified as hard or soft, depending on the magnitude of the
coercive field.[citation needed]
Another distinguishing feature is that molecule-based magnets are prepared via low-temperature solution-based techniques, versus high-temperature metallurgical processing or electroplating (in the case of
magnetic thin films). This enables a chemical tailoring of the molecular building blocks to tune the magnetic properties.[citation needed]
Specific materials include purely organic magnets made of organic radicals for example p-nitrophenyl nitronyl nitroxides,[15] decamethylferrocenium tetracyanoethenide,[16] mixed coordination compounds with bridging organic radicals,[17]Prussian blue related compounds,[18] and
charge-transfer complexes.[19]
Molecule-based magnets derive their net moment from the cooperative effect of the spin-bearing molecular entities, and can display bulk
ferromagnetic and
ferrimagnetic behavior with a true
critical temperature. In this regard, they are contrasted with
single-molecule magnets, which are essentially superparamagnets (displaying a blocking temperature versus a true critical temperature). This
critical temperature represents the point at which the materials switches from a simple paramagnet to a bulk magnet, and can be detected by ac susceptibility and
specific heat measurements.[citation needed]
^
abcMiller, Joel S.; Gatteschi, Dante (2011). "Molecule-based magnets". Chemical Society Reviews. 40 (6): 3065–3066.
doi:
10.1039/C1CS90019F.
PMID21552607.
^Weber, Birgit; Jäger, Ernst-G. (2009). "Structure and Magnetic Properties of Iron(II/III) Complexes with N2O22-Coordinating Schiff Base Like Ligands (Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 4/2009)". European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry. 2009 (4): 455.
doi:
10.1002/ejic.200990003.
^Wickman, H. H.; Trozzolo, A. M.; Williams, H. J.; Hull, G. W.; Merritt, F. R. (1967-03-10). "Spin-3/2 Iron Ferromagnet: Its Mössbauer and Magnetic Properties". Physical Review. 155 (2). American Physical Society (APS): 563–566.
Bibcode:
1967PhRv..155..563W.
doi:
10.1103/physrev.155.563.
ISSN0031-899X.
^Bulk ferromagnetism in the β-phase crystal of the p-nitrophenyl nitronyl nitroxide radicalChemical Physics Letters, Volume 186, Issues 4-5, 15 November 1991, Pages 401-404 Masafumi Tamura, Yasuhiro Nakazawa, Daisuke Shiomi, Kiyokazu Nozawa, Yuko Hosokoshi, Masayasu Ishikawa, Minuro Takahashi, Minoru Kinoshita
doi:
10.1016/0009-2614(91)90198-I
^Chittipeddi, Sailesh; Cromack, K. R.; Miller, Joel S.; Epstein, A. J. (1987-06-22). "Ferromagnetism in molecular decamethylferrocenium tetracyanoethenide (DMeFc TCNE)". Physical Review Letters. 58 (25). American Physical Society (APS): 2695–2698.
Bibcode:
1987PhRvL..58.2695C.
doi:
10.1103/physrevlett.58.2695.
ISSN0031-9007.
PMID10034821.
^Caneschi, Andrea; Gatteschi, Dante; Sessoli, Roberta; Rey, Paul (1989). "Toward molecular magnets: the metal-radical approach". Accounts of Chemical Research. 22 (11). American Chemical Society (ACS): 392–398.
doi:
10.1021/ar00167a004.
ISSN0001-4842.
^Miller, Joel S.; Epstein, Arthur J.; Reiff, William M. (1988). "Ferromagnetic molecular charge-transfer complexes". Chemical Reviews. 88 (1). American Chemical Society (ACS): 201–220.
doi:
10.1021/cr00083a010.
ISSN0009-2665.