Crafting Crystalline Materials with Unconventional Electronic and Magnetic Properties Based on Metallofullerenes with Metal-Metal Bonds

• Applicant: Dr. Evgenia Dmitrieva, since 1/2024
• Subject Area: Solid State and Surface Chemistry, Material Synthesis ; Synthesis and Properties of Functional Materials
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 461222691

Endohedral metallofullerenes (EMFs) are fullerene molecules encapsulating metal ion(s) or metal clusters. The combination of the spherical character of the fullerene cage and the intrinsic properties of the encapsulated metal ions gives rise of a very interesting class of compounds. Recently, we successfully captured the elusive M2@C2n as its derivative M2@C2n-CH2Ph (M = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, and Y; 2n= 72, 78, 80). The molecule is fascinating because of the unique single electron bonding between the encapsulated di-metal ions. The strong magnetic coupling between the two metal ions through the single electron makes Tb2@C80-CH2Ph and Dy2@C80-CH2Ph excellent single-molecule magnets (SMM). Our result opens a new class of air-stable SMMs, whose unusual magnetic properties are owed to the trapping of the unpaired electron between two lanthanides. In this project, the prepared M2@C2n-CH2Ph will be functionalized to tune the properties of these molecules. With these compounds as building blocks, we will craft versatile EMF-based single crystals through crystal engineering. Most importantly, studies on EMF single crystals beyond structure elucidation are very rare, partly because of the difficulty of growing high-quality single crystals, but also for the lack of effective collaboration between crystallographers and single crystal property study scientists. We will fill this gap to unravel the fascinating properties of EMF single crystals in this project. The magnetic and transport property studies of the single crystals will be conducted to shed some light on the fascinating properties of these materials with the possibility of discovering new materials with unconventional electronic and magnetic properties.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Dr. Fupin Liu, until 12/2023