A research team from the 2D Smart Materials Lab at the Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol) of the Universitat de València has opened a new pathway for the design of next-generation magnetic materials using two-dimensional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The work has been published in the prestigious Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS).

Altermagnetism represents a new class of magnetism that combines the best features of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic materials. Recognised by Science as one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of 2024, this property is directly driven by the symmetry of the crystal lattice and offers highly relevant technological functionalities for the development of spintronics, a technology that seeks to use the spin of electrons to transmit information. Until now, the use of coordination chemistry as a systematic route to break symmetry and generate these states had remained largely unexplored.

This work, led by ICMol researcher José J. Baldoví, demonstrates that the symmetry of the ligands—the organic molecules that connect the metal centres in MOFs—and their spatial arrangement make the crystallographic symmetry of the material a designable and programmable property. This makes it possible to stabilise the altermagnetic phase on demand.

This novel approach establishes coordination chemistry as a versatile and powerful route for designing this type of molecular material with tunable electronic and magnetic properties, paving the way for next-generation spintronic devices.

The article is authored by Diego López-Alcalá, whose work forms part of his doctoral thesis, Alberto M. Ruiz, Andrei Shumilin and José J. Baldoví, principal investigator and head of the 2D Smart Materials Lab research group. All authors carry out their scientific work at the Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol) of the Universitat de València. The research received financial support from the European Union through the European Research Council (ERC project 2D-SMARTIES), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (2D-MAGIC project), and the Generalitat Valenciana’s GenT Plan (2D-SWiMS project).

The Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol) of the Universitat de València focuses its work on the molecular aspects of nanoscience and on the study of materials with magnetic, electrical or optical properties. Since 2015, it has been officially recognised by the Spanish Ministry as a María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence.

Link to the JACS article: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c22589