Resonant spin tunneling in randomly oriented nanospheres of ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{12}$ acetate

Journal Article · Tue Jan 06 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.024404· OSTI ID:1182482

Lendínez, S. ^[1]; Zarzuela, R. ^[1]; Tejada, J. ^[1]; Terban, M. W. ^[2]; Billinge, S. J. L. ^[3]; Espin, J. ^[4]; Imaz, I. ^[4]; Maspoch, D. ^[5]; Chudnovsky, E. M. ^[6]

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1. Univ. de Barcelona, Barcelona (Spain)
2. Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)
3. Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States); Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
4. Esfera Univ. Autonoma Barcelona, Bellaterra (Spain)
5. Esfera Univ. Autonoma Barcelona, Bellaterra (Spain); Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats (ICREA), Barcelona (Spain)
6. Lehman College, The City Univ. of New York, Bronx, NY (United States)

We report measurements and theoretical analysis of resonant spin tunneling in randomly oriented nanospheres of a molecular magnet. Amorphous nanospheres of Mn₁₂ acetate have been fabricated and characterized by chemical, infrared, TEM, X-ray, and magnetic methods. Magnetic measurements have revealed sharp tunneling peaks in the field derivative of the magnetization that occur at the typical resonant field values for the Mn₁₂ acetate crystal in the field parallel to the easy axis.Theoretical analysis is provided that explains these observations. We argue that resonant spin tunneling in a molecular magnet can be established in a powder sample, without the need for a single crystal and without aligning the easy magnetization axes of the molecules. This is confirmed by re-analyzing the old data on a powdered sample of non-oriented micron-size crystals of Mn₁₂ acetate. In conclusion, our findings can greatly simplify the selection of candidates for quantum spin tunneling among newly synthesized molecular magnets.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Grant/Contract Number: SC00112704; AC02-98CH10886
• OSTI ID: 1182482
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1180857
• Report Number(s): BNL-107313-2014-JA; PRBMDO; R&D Project: PM032; KC0202010
• Journal Information: Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Vol. 91, Issue 2; ISSN 1098-0121
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY