Although the term "single-molecule magnet" was first employed in 1996,[3] the first single-molecule magnet, [Mn12O12(OAc)16(H2O)4] (nicknamed "Mn12") was reported in 1991.[4][5][6] This manganeseoxide compound features a central Mn(IV)4O4 cube surrounded by a ring of 8 Mn(III) units connected through bridging oxo ligands, and displays slow magnetic relaxation behavior up to temperatures of ca. 4 K.[7][8]
Efforts in this field primarily focus on raising the operating temperatures of single-molecule magnets to liquid nitrogen temperature or room temperature in order to enable applications in magnetic memory. Along with raising the blocking temperature, efforts are being made to develop SMMs with high energy barriers to prevent fast spin reorientation.[9] Recent acceleration in this field of research has resulted in significant enhancements of single-molecule magnet operating temperatures to above 70 K.[10][11][12][13]
^Christou, George; Gatteschi, Dante; Hendrickson, David N.; Sessoli, Roberta (2011). "Single-Molecule Magnets". MRS Bulletin. 25 (11): 66–71. doi:10.1557/mrs2000.226. ISSN0883-7694.
^Aubin, Sheila M. J.; Wemple, Michael W.; Adams, David M.; Tsai, Hui-Lien; Christou, George; Hendrickson, David N. (1996). "Distorted MnIVMnIII3Cubane Complexes as Single-Molecule Magnets". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 118 (33): 7746. doi:10.1021/ja960970f.
^Caneschi, Andrea; Gatteschi, Dante; Sessoli, Roberta; Barra, Anne Laure; Brunel, Louis Claude; Guillot, Maurice (1991). "Alternating current susceptibility, high field magnetization, and millimeter band EPR evidence for a ground S = 10 state in [Mn12O12(Ch3COO)16(H2O)4].2CH3COOH.4H2O". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 113 (15): 5873. doi:10.1021/ja00015a057.
^Sessoli, Roberta; Tsai, Hui Lien; Schake, Ann R.; Wang, Sheyi; Vincent, John B.; Folting, Kirsten; Gatteschi, Dante; Christou, George; Hendrickson, David N. (1993). "High-spin molecules: [Mn12O12(O2CR)16(H2O)4]". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 115 (5): 1804–1816. doi:10.1021/ja00058a027. ISSN0002-7863.
^Lis, T. (1980). "Preparation, structure, and magnetic properties of a dodecanuclear mixed-valence manganese carboxylate". Acta Crystallographica Section B. 36 (9): 2042. doi:10.1107/S0567740880007893.
^Chemistry of Nanostructured Materials; Yang, P., Ed.; World Scientific Publishing: Hong Kong, 2003.