Electric Field Control of Spins in Molecular Magnets

Coherent control of individual molecular spins in nanodevices is a pivotal prerequisite for fulfilling the potential promised by molecular spintronics. By applying electric field pulses during time-resolved electron spin resonance measurements, we measure the sensitivity of the spin in several antiferromagnetic molecular nanomagnets to external electric fields. We find a linear electric field dependence of the spin states in Cr7Mn, an antiferromagnetic ring with a ground-state spin of S=1, and in a frustrated Cu3 triangle, both with coefficients of about 2 rad s−1/V m−1. Conversely, the antiferromagnetic ring Cr7Ni, isomorphic with Cr7Mn but with S=1/2, does not exhibit a detectable effect. We propose that the spin-electric field coupling may be used for selectively controlling individual molecules embedded in nanodevices.