Abstract
Research on the magnetoelectric (ME) effect (or spin-electric coupling) in molecule-based magnetic materials is a relatively nascent but promising topic. Molecule-based magnetic materials have diverse magnetic functionalities that can be coupled to electrical properties. Here we investigate a realization of ME coupling that is fundamental but not heavily studied─the coupling of magnetic spin level crossings to changes in electric polarization. A mixed-valence Mn4Na complex with a total ground-state spin S = 5/2 under zero magnetic field and S = 17/2 under high magnetic field undergoes a cascade of ground-state level crossings of the Sz states with increasing magnetic field. Magnetization and electrical polarization measurements under pulsed magnetic fields up to 73 T show that each spin level crossing is accompanied by a significant change in electric polarization that is an even function of the applied magnetic field. A molecular Hamiltonian describing antiferromagnetic exchange in a distorted tetrahedron of three MnIII and one MnII ions matches the data well. We conclude that the ME coupling is caused by magnetostriction within the polar molecule as it distorts to lower its magnetic exchange energy.
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