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ORGANIC MAGNETIC MATERIALS/ORGANIC THIN FILMS

Metal-free magnets

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 6, page 88 (2022)Cite this article

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Magnetic materials are highly important in many aspects of our lives, from compasses, televisions and jewellery to more specialist technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging and orienting satellites in space. Traditionally, magnets are metal-based solid materials with crystalline structures. However, magnetic ordering is also possible in nitrogen- and carbon-based radical-containing materials in which the radical maintains a permanent magnetic moment. Writing in Chem, a multi-institute team led by Maria Benedetta Casu developed a thin-film magnetic material composed of purely organic components.

Due to the potential low Curie temperatures of the thin films, a special experimental set-up was required — specifically, ultra-low temperatures, a superconducting vector magnet and a cryogen-free 3He–4He dilution refrigerator. Film preparation was optimized and the method used was found to have an effect on the magnetic signature. The formation of a molecular arrangement rather than the crystal arrangement in traditional magnets also affected the magnetic properties.

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References

Original article

  • Junghoefer, T. et al. Magnetic behavior in metal-free radical thin films. Chem https://doi.org/hdg8 (2022)

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  1. Nature Reviews Chemistry http://www.nature.com/natrevchem/

    Colette Whitfield

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  1. Colette Whitfield
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Correspondence to Colette Whitfield.

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Whitfield, C. Metal-free magnets. Nat Rev Chem 6, 88 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-022-00364-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-022-00364-y

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