Encoding complexity within supramolecular analogues of frustrated magnets

Abstract

© 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. The solid phases of gold(I) and/or silver(I) cyanides are supramolecular assemblies of inorganic polymer chains in which the key structural degrees of freedom - namely, the relative vertical shifts of neighbouring chains - are mathematically equivalent to the phase angles of rotating planar ('XY') spins. Here, we show how the supramolecular interactions between chains can be tuned to mimic different magnetic interactions. In this way, the structures of gold(I) and/or silver(I) cyanides reflect the phase behaviour of triangular XY magnets. Complex magnetic states predicted for this family of magnets - including collective spin-vortices of relevance to data storage applications - are realized in the structural chemistry of these cyanide polymers. Our results demonstrate how chemically simple inorganic materials can behave as structural analogues of otherwise inaccessible 'toy' spin models and also how the theoretical understanding of those models allows control over collective ('emergent') phenomena in supramolecular systems.

Citation

Cairns, A. B., Cliffe, M. J., Paddison, J. A., Daisenberger, D., Tucker, M. G., Coudert, F. X., & Goodwin, A. L. (2016). Encoding complexity within supramolecular analogues of frustrated magnets. Nature Chemistry, 8(5), 442-447. https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.2462

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 18, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Feb 22, 2016
• Publication Date: May 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Dec 20, 2018
• Journal: Nature Chemistry
• Print ISSN: 1755-4330
• Electronic ISSN: 1755-4349
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 442-447
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.2462
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1430985
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/nchem.2462