Metal-organic frameworks as platforms for air-stable organometallic single-molecule magnets

In 2024, the global data storage industry is predicted to be valued at more than one hundred billion dollars. The technology that currently underpins data storage is based on the memory properties of relatively large magnetic particles: society's need to handle increasingly large amounts of data whilst decreasing the physical size of the storage medium necessitates the discovery of innovative storage methods.

Using sub-nanometre molecules to store magnetic information introduces potential for developing data storage materials that could out-perform conventional technology, responding to the needs of a data-intensive world. The big problems are that the best magnetic molecules available for this challenge function at extremely low temperatures and they decompose on contact with air. We now propose to solve both problems by combining world-leading capability in synthetic chemistry with unique physics expertise and instrumentation in a highly adventurous New Horizons project. By developing a novel approach to making and measuring molecular magnetic materials, we aim to chart a flexible path to the early-stage fabrication of nanoscale magnetic devices based on an unprecedented type of metal-organic composite material, which will consist of single-molecule magnets and metal-organic frameworks, or SMM@MOF materials.

We will also undertake proof-of-concept experiments aimed at preparing thin films of selected SMM@MOF composites. Should we show that SMM@MOF thin films have magnet-like behaviour, the results will form the basis of future research aimed at the fabrication of molecule-based magnetic devices. Success with this project will help to drive the second quantum revolution and provide a platform on which to discover innovative quantum technologies.