Co(II) single-ion magnets: synthesis, structure, and magnetic properties

• Published in: Monatshefte für Chemie Vol. 153; no. 11; pp. 1001 - 1036
• Main Authors: Juráková, Jana, Šalitroš, Ivan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01.11.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analytical Chemistry; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Coordination compounds; Data storage; Ferromagnetism; Inorganic Chemistry; Magnetic anisotropy; Magnetic induction; Magnetic properties; Magnetization; Magnets; Molecular machines; Organic Chemistry; Physical Chemistry; Review; Switches; Theoretical and Computational Chemistry; Coordination geometry; Molecular magnets; Coordination chemistry; Magnetic properties
• ISSN: 0026-9247; 1434-4475
• DOI: 10.1007/s00706-022-02920-0

Magnetoactive coordination compounds exhibiting bi- or multistability between two or more magnetic stable states present an attractive example of molecular switches. Currently, the research is focused on molecular nanomagnets, especially single molecule magnets (SMMs), which are molecules, where the slow relaxation of the magnetization based on the purely molecular origin is observed. Contrary to ferromagnets, the magnetic bistability of SMMs does not require intermolecular interactions, which makes them particularly interesting in terms of application potential, especially in the high-density storage of data. This paper aims to introduce the readers into a basic understanding of SMM behaviour, and furthermore, it provides an overview of the attractive Co(II) SMMs with emphasis on the relation between structural features, magnetic anisotropy, and slow relaxation of magnetization in tetra-, penta-, and hexacoordinate complexes. Graphical abstract