First time for thin films of paramagnetic organic radicals on gold

What is it about?

Molecule-based magnets are a broad, emerging class of magnetic materials that expands the materials properties typically associated with magnets to include low density, transparency, electrical insulation, and low-temperature fabrication, typical of organic materials. One of the main challenges in organic magnetism is the growth of highly oriented layers down to the sub-monolayer regime on a substrate. We address the growth issue of organic magnets in a systematic way, taking advantage of our long expertise in growing highly oriented thin films of organic molecules. We study the ability of the molecules to order on a substrate, influences of substrate-molecule and molecule-molecule interaction on the magnetic properties, by using soft X-ray techniques and additionally techniques like atomic force microscopy. see also https://phys.org/news/2013-03-magnets-thin.html

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Why is it important?

This idea is based on a new approach toward organic magnets. We have demonstrated the controlled deposition of a pyrene-substituted nitronyl nitroxide radical on Au(111) investigating the interface, the surface and the magnetic properties of the assemblies, addressing also issues like growth modes and vacuum stability interesting for future technological applications.