Abstract
The quest for smaller and more energy-efficient smartphones and supercomputers with more features and processing power hinges on increasing data storage capacity. Two research groups at the University of Manchester have reported a dysprosium molecule with switchable magnetic properties—a single-molecule magnet (SMM) with the ability to store a single bit of data—that exhibits the most promise yet for reaching what might be the ultimate limit in high-density data storage. The catch with SMMs is their memory effect works only under the influence of a magnetic field at very low temperatures, up to 14 K so far, using liquid helium as a coolant. The new dysprosium molecule displays magnetic switchability up to 60 K, which is tantalizingly close to 77 K, liquid nitrogen’s temperature. Researchers who study lanthanide complexes tell C&EN this breakthrough could allow them to design even better molecules that could operate at 77 K or higher, which would
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