One of today's major challenges in the world of electronics is to develop new bistable systems for denser information storage. One alternative is to design objects capable of behaving like a two-level system that can play the role of a quantum bit. Molecular magnetism can provide ingenious solutions in this field.
Coordination chemistry is a rich and flexible field, combining the great variety of organic chemistry with the physical properties provided by transition metals, such as magnetism, optics and charge transfer phenomena. It is thus possible to create a synergy between several physical properties within a single object, leading to the emergence of a very specific function that may eventually be useful.
In our presentation, we focus on the design of magnetic molecules and nano-objects capable of storing information either classically or quantum mechanically. Synthesis strategies for controlling the size of a molecule and thus modulating its magnetic properties, for example, are discussed. In addition, we show how it is possible to combine several properties (magnetism/optics or magnetism/charge transfer) within a nanometer-sized object to bring out a new function. Such objects can be used to design novel devices for information storage and processing.
