Design of high-temperature single-molecule magnets
The volume of stored digital information is increasing exponentially, and the economic and environmental costs can be mitigated by increasing data densities by orders of magnitude. In place of standard storage media, a simple solution is to store data in individual molecules on the nanoscale: i.e. in single-molecule magnets (SMMs). Molecular data storage could dramatically increase data densities, but memory must persist at economically viable temperatures. We have pioneered approaches for designing some of the best-performing SMMs known, and we are now working to understand in more detail the origins of magnetic relaxation (the process by which magnetic information is lost) to further improve magnetic memory in molecules.
- An electrostatic model for the determination of magnetic anisotropy in dysprosium complexes
- The first near-linear bis(amide) f-block complex: a blueprint for a high temperature single molecule magnet
- Design Criteria for High-Temperature Single-Molecule Magnets
- On Approaching The Limit of Molecular Magnetic Anisotropy: A Near-Perfect Pentagonal Bipyramidal DyIII Single-Molecule Magnet
- Molecular magnetic hysteresis at 60 kelvin in dysprosocenium
- Field- and temperature-dependent quantum tunnelling of the magnetisation in a large barrier single-molecule magnet
- Correlating Blocking Temperatures with Relaxation Mechanisms in Single-Molecule Magnets
- Studies of Hysteresis and Quantum Tunnelling of the Magnetisation in Dysprosium(III) Single Molecule Magnets
- A Bis-Monophospholyl Dysprosium Cation Showing Magnetic Hysteresis at 48 Kelvin
- Understanding magnetic relaxation in high blocking-temperature single-ion magnets
- Enhancing magnetic hysteresis in single-molecule magnets by ligand functionalisation
- Correlating Axial and Equatorial Ligand Field Effects to the Single-Molecule Magnet Performances of a Family of Dysprosium Bis-Methanediide Complexes
- Ab initio prediction of high-temperature magnetic relaxation rates in single-molecule magnets
Understanding paramagnetic MRI contrast agents
Non-invasive bioimaging has revolutionised healthcare, and developing more sensitive and informative probes is paramount for early detection in a wide range of diseases. We are investigating prototype MRI contrast agents using a range of measurements and computational techniques to understand how molecules can be designed to elicit more diagnostic information from a single MRI scan.
- Spectroscopic and crystal field consequences of fluoride binding by [Yb.DTMA]3+ in aqueous solution
- Rationalisation of anomalous pseudo-contact shifts and their solvent dependence in a series of C3-symmetric lanthanide complexes
- Lanthanide-induced relaxation anisotropy
- Exquisite Sensitivity of The Ligand Field to Solvation and Donor Polarisability in Coordinatively Saturated Lanthanide Complexes
- Sensitivity of Magnetic Anisotropy in the Solid State for Lanthanide Complexes with Small Crystal Field Splitting
- Periodic trends and hidden dynamics of magnetic properties in three series of triazacyclononane lanthanide complexes
- Unravelling the Complexities of Pseudocontact Shift Analysis in Lanthanide Coordination Complexes of Differing Symmetry
- How the Ligand Field in Lanthanide Coordination Complexes Determines Magnetic Susceptibility Anisotropy, Paramagnetic NMR Shift and Relaxation Behaviour
Designing molecular spin qubits for quantum information
Of the many potential implementations of quantum bits (qubits), molecular spin qubits are particularly favourable: e.g. they have a low fabrication cost, are perfectly identical and are chemically tuneable. Furthermore, they can be engineered to be robust against magnetic noise and exhibit quantum coherence times rivalling solid state qubits. We are investigating how they can be protected from other environmental degrees of freedom such as vibrational noise, such that they maintain their coherence properties in device-like architectures.
