Lanthanide-radical single-molecule magnets: current status and future challenges.

In the field of molecular magnetism, the lanthanide-radical (Ln-Rad) method has become one of the most appealing tactics for introducing strong magnetic interactions and has spurred on the booming development of heterospin single-molecule magnets (SMMs). The article is a timely retrospect on the research progress of Ln-Rad heterospin systems and special attention is invested on low dimensional Ln-Rad compounds with SMM behavior, primarily concerning with nitrogen-based radicals, semiquinone and nitroxide radicals. Rational design, molecular structures, magnetic behaviors and magneto-structural correlations are highlighted. Meanwhile, particular attention is focused on the influence of exchange couplings on the dynamic magnetic properties, with the purpose of helping to guide the design of prospective radical-based Ln-SMMs.

Improved single-chain-magnet behavior in a biradical-based nitronyl nitroxide-Cu-Dy chain.

A biradical with ferromagnetic intramolecular interaction was found to improve the SCM behavior of a nitronyl nitroxide-Cu-Dy chain, resulting in an energy barrier for magnetization reversal of 40 K.

Gold atomic clusters extracting the valence electrons to shield the carbon monoxide passivation on near-monolayer core-shell nanocatalysts in methanol oxidation reactions.

Atomic-scale gold clusters were intercalated at the inter-facet corner sites of Pt-shell Ru-core nanocatalysts with near-monolayer shell thickness. We demonstrated that these unique clusters could serve as a drain of valence electrons in the kink region of the core-shell heterojunction. As jointly revealed by density functional theory calculations and valence band spectra, these Au clusters extract core-level electrons to the valence band. They prevent corrosion due to protonation and enhance the tolerance of CO by increasing the electronegativity at the outermost surface of the NCs during the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). In these circumstances, the retained current density of Pt-shell Ru-core NCs is doubled in a long-term (2 hours) MOR at a fixed voltage (0.5 V vs. SCE) by intercalating these sub-nanometer gold clusters. Such novel structural confinement provides a possible strategy for developing direct-methanol fuel cell (DMFC) modules with high power and stability.