Studies of Rotaxanes and Linked Rings Targeting Quantum Information Processing

Abstract

This thesis presents Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) studies of a series of molecules to assess the suitability of heterometallic rings for applications in Quantum Information Processing (QIP). Of particular interest here are complexes containing multiple paramagnetic centres, which have been proposed as multi-qubit gates - the quantum analogue of classical multi-input logic gates. Such gates are an essential component of any viable quantum computer, and so if electron spins contained in molecules are to be used as qubits it must be possible to use them to perform multi-qubit operations. To this end a novel method of manipulating and detecting the states of multi-spin Molecular Electron Spin Qubits (MESQs) is proposed. This method is experimentally tested on a model system and its efficacy is examined through numerical simulations. In addition to these methodological developments, the magnetic properties of a series of novel complexes are determined, a crucial first step towards assessing their suitability as qubit candidates. The inter-spin interactions in a family of heterometallic rings linked to metalloporphyrins are quantified using a combination of Continuous Wave (CW) and pulse EPR techniques. Further, the magnetic properties of single isomer {Cr6M2} heterometallic rings are able to provide insight into the isomeric structure of the clusters.

Date of Award	1 Aug 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Eric Mcinnes (Supervisor) & Richard Winpenny (Supervisor)