MOLNANOMAG: Molecular nanomagnets

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 99.0792-2

Key words (English)

Molecular magnetism; spin clusters; single - molecule magnets;
Education; Training; Scientific Research; Social Aspects

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: HPRNCT1999-00012

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 5. Frame Research Programme - 4.1.1 Research training networks

Short description (English)

See abstract

Partners and International Organizations (English)

Coordinator: INSTM, Florence (I)

Abstract (English)

The general goal of the present proposal e.g. that of designating, synhesizing, investigating the properties and looking for possible applications of individual molecules which behave as magnets of nanometre size. It is a strongly interdisciplinary area where the success achieved so far has been mainly determined by the ability of chemists and physics to work together in a feed back mechanism in which the new results of physical measurements have been transformed into information for the design of new molecules with predictable properties. In order to reach the goal it will be necessary to embed in single molecule sufficient interacting magnetic centres, provided by transmission metal ions, lanthanide ions and organic radicals, to give rise to ground states characterized by large spin and large magnetic anisotrophy.

This gives rise to the following objectives of MALNOMAG:
1. Developing efficient synthetic strategies for single-molecule magnets;
2. Establishing correlations between structure and super aramagnetic behaviour of the molecules;
3. Developing experimental technique for measuring the properties of single-molecule magnets;
4. Developing new theoretical models for molecular bistability and quantum coherence phenomena in macroscopic objects;
5. Exploring the possibility of using magnetic molecular clusters for developing quantum computing techniques.

It is the opinion of the proposers of this projects that the combined efforts of chemist and quantum computing techniques provide a major breakthrough in the development of single molecule magnets, in the understanding of the magnetic properties of medosopic matter, and in demonstrating the potential of single molecule magnets for -creating a new type of magnetic information storage and processing.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 99.0792-2