Electric control of magnetic exchange in a molecular spin triangle

Spin-electric effects are crucial for quantum technologies, offering several advantages over standard magnetic field-based spin control. Seeking a mechanism independent of spin-orbit interaction, here we report the detection of a spin-electric effect in the [Cu 3 (saltag)(py) 6 ]ClO 4 spin triangle....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 6564 - 9
Main Authors: Cini, Alberto, Böhme, Michael, Kintzel, Benjamin, Perfetti, Mauro, Plass, Winfried, Sessoli, Roberta, Fittipaldi, Maria
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 16.07.2025
Nature Publishing Group
Nature Portfolio
Subjects:
119/118
639/638/263
639/638/911
639/766/119/997
Anisotropy
Copper
Crystals
Electric control
Electric fields
Electron paramagnetic resonance
Electron spin resonance
Electrons
Exchanging
Humanities and Social Sciences
Investigations
Ligands
Magnetic fields
multidisciplinary
Qubits (quantum computing)
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Single crystals
Spectrum analysis
Spin-orbit interactions
Symmetry
ISSN:2041-1723, 2041-1723
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Spin-electric effects are crucial for quantum technologies, offering several advantages over standard magnetic field-based spin control. Seeking a mechanism independent of spin-orbit interaction, here we report the detection of a spin-electric effect in the [Cu 3 (saltag)(py) 6 ]ClO 4 spin triangle. The effect is investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance under electric field modulation on single crystals. The anisotropy of the magnetic response to the electric field is addressed, and comprehensive ab initio calculations are performed to elucidate its origin. We demonstrate that when the electric field is applied in the plane of the triangle, the dominant contribution to the observed spin-electric signal arises from a variation of the isotropic exchange interaction. Our combined theoretical and experimental approach demonstrates that, in our system, there is no evidence of antisymmetric exchange (Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya) interaction, confirming that electric-field control of magnetic exchange is achievable in the absence of significant spin–orbit coupling. Moreover, we underscore the crucial role of the bridging ligand, which opens new avenues for chemically optimizing spin–electric coupling. Electric control of magnetic interactions in a molecular spin-frustrated triangle is demonstrated through experiments and supported by ab initio calculations. This result opens new pathways for scalability by local control of qubit–qubit coupling.
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ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-61417-6