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Mattioni A, Staab JK, Blackmore WJA, Reta D, Iles-Smith J, Nazir A, Chilton NF. Vibronic effects on the quantum tunnelling of magnetisation in Kramers single-molecule magnets. Nat Commun 2024; 15:485. [PMID: 38212305 PMCID: PMC10784566 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44486-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Single-molecule magnets are among the most promising platforms for achieving molecular-scale data storage and processing. Their magnetisation dynamics are determined by the interplay between electronic and vibrational degrees of freedom, which can couple coherently, leading to complex vibronic dynamics. Building on an ab initio description of the electronic and vibrational Hamiltonians, we formulate a non-perturbative vibronic model of the low-energy magnetic degrees of freedom in monometallic single-molecule magnets. Describing their low-temperature magnetism in terms of magnetic polarons, we are able to quantify the vibronic contribution to the quantum tunnelling of the magnetisation, a process that is commonly assumed to be independent of spin-phonon coupling. We find that the formation of magnetic polarons lowers the tunnelling probability in both amorphous and crystalline systems by stabilising the low-lying spin states. This work, thus, shows that spin-phonon coupling subtly influences magnetic relaxation in single-molecule magnets even at extremely low temperatures where no vibrational excitations are present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Mattioni
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Jakob K Staab
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - William J A Blackmore
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Daniel Reta
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- Faculty of Chemistry, The University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Donostia, 20018, Spain
- Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Donostia, 20018, Spain
- IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, 48013, Spain
| | - Jake Iles-Smith
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, School of Natural Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Ahsan Nazir
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, School of Natural Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Nicholas F Chilton
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
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