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Studies of a Large Odd-Numbered Odd-Electron Metal Ring: Inelastic Neutron Scattering and Muon Spin Relaxation Spectroscopy of Cr8Mn

Baker, Michael L.; Lancaster, Tom; Chiesa, Alessandro; Amoretti, Giuseppe; Baker, Peter J.; Barker, Claire; Blundell, Stephen J.; Carretta, Stefano; Collison, David; Güdel, Hans U.; Guidi, Tatiana; McInnes, Eric J.L.; Möller, Johannes S.; Mutka, Hannu; Ollivier, Jacques; Pratt, Francis L.; Santini, Paolo; Tuna, Floriana; Tregenna-Piggott, Philip L.W.; Vitorica-Yrezabal, Iñigo J.; Timco, Grigore A.; Winpenny, Richard E.P.

Studies of a Large Odd-Numbered Odd-Electron Metal Ring: Inelastic Neutron Scattering and Muon Spin Relaxation Spectroscopy of Cr8Mn Thumbnail


Authors

Michael L. Baker

Alessandro Chiesa

Giuseppe Amoretti

Peter J. Baker

Claire Barker

Stephen J. Blundell

Stefano Carretta

David Collison

Hans U. Güdel

Tatiana Guidi

Eric J.L. McInnes

Johannes S. Möller

Hannu Mutka

Jacques Ollivier

Francis L. Pratt

Paolo Santini

Floriana Tuna

Philip L.W. Tregenna-Piggott

Iñigo J. Vitorica-Yrezabal

Grigore A. Timco

Richard E.P. Winpenny



Abstract

The spin dynamics of Cr8Mn, a nine-membered antiferromagnetic (AF) molecular nanomagnet, are investigated. Cr8Mn is a rare example of a large odd-membered AF ring, and has an odd-number of 3d-electrons present. Odd-membered AF rings are unusual and of interest due to the presence of competing exchange interactions that result in frustrated-spin ground states. The chemical synthesis and structures of two Cr8Mn variants that differ only in their crystal packing are reported. Evidence of spin frustration is investigated by inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and muon spin relaxation spectroscopy (μSR). From INS studies we accurately determine an appropriate microscopic spin Hamiltonian and we show that μSR is sensitive to the ground-spin-state crossing from S=1/2 to S=3/2 in Cr8Mn. The estimated width of the muon asymmetry resonance is consistent with the presence of an avoided crossing. The investigation of the internal spin structure of the ground state, through the analysis of spin-pair correlations and scalar-spin chirality, shows a non-collinear spin structure that fluctuates between non-planar states of opposite chiralities.

Citation

Baker, M. L., Lancaster, T., Chiesa, A., Amoretti, G., Baker, P. J., Barker, C., …Winpenny, R. E. (2016). Studies of a Large Odd-Numbered Odd-Electron Metal Ring: Inelastic Neutron Scattering and Muon Spin Relaxation Spectroscopy of Cr8Mn. Chemistry - A European Journal, 22(5), 1779-1788. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201503431

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Aug 28, 2015
Online Publication Date Jan 8, 2016
Publication Date Jan 26, 2016
Deposit Date Jan 13, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Chemistry - A European Journal
Print ISSN 0947-6539
Electronic ISSN 1521-3765
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 22
Issue 5
Pages 1779-1788
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201503431
Keywords Inelastic neutron scattering, Molecular magnetism, Muon spin relaxation, Spin chirality, Spin frustration.
Related Public URLs https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/jrul/item/?pid=uk-ac-man-scw:296313

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.





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