This project focuses on the fabrication and characterization of the magnetism of molecule-based thin films, nanoparticles, and frustrated systems. Building upon previous work that discovered an anisotropic, photoinduced decrease in thin films consisting of Prussian blue analog materials, hetero-layered films and nanoparticles will be generated and studied. The new materials are expected to possess new magneto-optical functionality above 77 Kelvin. Frustration in two-dimensional triangular lattices possessing two magnetic exchange parameters will be studied by low temperature thermodynamic measurements, and the ratio of the couplings will be tuned by pressure and deuteration. The results will test the rich and diverse phase diagram that has been predicted and will investigate magnetic interactions mediated by hydrogen bonds. The research is interdisciplinary and international, involving physics-chemistry collaborations and coworkers at Safarik University, Kosice, Slovakia. The work is expected to require studies at national laboratories, including the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee and the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Junior researchers, including high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, will participate in the research and will be trained to explore and model new magnetic phenomena possessing potential applications in magneto-optical recording devices and switches.
This project studies the magnetism of new two-dimensional and nanoscopic systems. Due to the increase of competition between the microscopic magnetic spins embedded in the new structures, the dynamics of the magnetism is expected to evolve in ways not usually observed in larger magnets. These fundamental studies will provide a roadmap for the design and fabrication of new materials possessing magneto-optical functionality in a range of temperatures that makes them technologically useful. A blend of microscopic and macroscopic probes are used to explore the foundations of the magnetism, and national facilities, like the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee and the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, provide specialized resources needed for the investigations. The interdisciplary research involves a long-standing and productive physics-chemistry team and consists of an international collaboration with researchers at Safarik University, Kosice, Slovakia. High school, undergraduate, and graduate students participate and drive the efforts while receiving training on how to model and explore magnetic phenomena down to nanoscopic length scales. The research is expected to provide a roadmap for new technological developments of magneto-optical recording devices and switches.
