MOLECULAR NANOMAGNETISM: THE FIRST FREQUENCY DOMAIN MAGNETIC RESONANCE SPECTROMETER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

This proposal aims to identify novel strategies for preparing better single-molecule magnets. Single-molecule magnets are molecules that show stable magnetisation of purely molecular origin, due to their magnetic anisotropy. They are promising candidates for a bottom-up approach to magnetic data storage materials. One of the advantages is that all the molecules are the same and there is no distribution in the size of the particles. However, the blocking temperature of the magnetisation is still too low. Here we propose to study three classes of single molecule magnets that may show higher blocking temperatures: First of all, those composed of high-anisotropy ions, secondly, those containing ions with an orbital moment, and finally those containing lanthanide ions. We will study these systems using a combination of magnetometry and frequency domain magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The latter is a method that is new to the UK.