[en] This book contains 19 chapters. Some of the chapter titles are: Optical Spectroscophy; The Basis of Spin-Hamiltonian Theory; Inelastic Neutorn Scattering From Clusters; Magneto-structural Correlations in Bioinorganic Chemistry; and Magnetic Exchange Interactions Propagated by Multi-Atom Bridges

[en] ⁵⁵Mn nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements have been carried out in an oriented powder sample of Mn12 acetate at low temperature (1.4--3 K) in order to investigate locally the static and dynamic magnetic properties of the molecule in its high-spin S=10 ground state. We report the observation of three ⁵⁵MnNMR lines under zero external magnetic field. From the resonance frequency and the width of the lines we derive the internal hyperfine field and the quadrupole coupling constant at each of the three nonequivalent Mn ion sites. From the field dependence of the spectrum we obtain a direct confirmation of the standard picture, in which spin moments of Mn⁴⁺ ions (S=3/2) of the inner tetrahedron are polarized antiparallel to that of Mn³⁺ ions (S=2) of the outer ring with no measurable canting from the easy axis up to an applied field of 6 T. It is found that the splitting of the ⁵⁵Mn-NMR lines when a magnetic field is applied at low temperature allows one to monitor the off-equilibrium population of the molecules in the different low lying magnetic states. The measured nuclear spin-lattice relaxation time T₁ strongly depends on temperature and magnetic field. The behavior could be fitted well by considering the local-field fluctuations at the nuclear ⁵⁵Mn site due to the thermal reorientation of the total S=10 spin of the molecule. From the fit of the data one can derive the product of the spin-phonon coupling constant times the mean-square value of the fluctuating hyperfine field. The two constants could be estimated separately by making some assumptions. The comparison of the mean-square fluctuation from relaxation with the static hyperfine field from the spectrum suggests that nonuniform terms (q≠0) are important in describing the spin dynamics of the local Mn moments in the ground state

[en] The utility of EPR and NMR in the study of low-dimensional magnetic solids is shown. A short summary of the basis of magnetic resonance in these systems is reported, and the importance of spin-diffusion and magnetic anisotropy evidenced. Some results from experiments on metal-radical chains and clusters are presented. (authors). 37 refs., 7 figs

[en] The longitudinal (H_Z) and transverse (H_T) magnetic field dependence of the relaxation time of the magnetization in Mn12 in its S=10 ground state was measured by NMR. The minima in the relaxation time at the fields for level crossing are due to the quantum tunneling of the magnetization. The shortening of the relaxation time under the application of H_T is shown to be due mainly to the reduction of the energy barrier

[en] The design and the synthesis of molecular clusters which give rise to slow relaxation of the magnetization at low temperature are the focus of a great interdisciplinary interest, because they provide unique materials to test the theories of quantum tunneling of the magnetization. A short review is provided here of the best systems so far discovered, outlining the possible relevance of this new class of materials to future applications

[en] The magnetic molecular cluster [Fe₈(N₃C₆H₁₅)₆O₂(OH)₁₂]⁸⁺[Br₈·9H₂O]^8-, in short Fe8, has been investigated at low temperature by ¹H-NMR and relaxation measurements. Some measurements of ²D-NMR in partially deuterated Fe8 clusters will also be reported. Upon decreasing temperature the NMR spectra display a very broad and structured signal which is the result of the internal local fields at the proton sites due to the local moments of the Fe(III) ions in the total S=10 magnetic ground state. The proton and deuteron NMR spectra have been analyzed and the different resonance peaks have been attributed to the different proton groups in the molecule. The simulation of the spectra by using a dipolar hyperfine field and the accepted model for the orientation of the Fe(III) local moments do not agree with the experiments even when the magnitude of the local Fe(III) moments is allowed to vary. It is concluded that a positive contact hyperfine interaction of the same order of magnitude as the dipolar interaction is present for all proton sites except the water molecules. The temperature and magnetic field dependence of the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate is ascribed to the fluctuations of the local Fe(III) moments, which follow rigidly the fluctuations of the total ground state magnetization of the nanomagnet. By using a simple model already utilized for the Mn12 cluster, we derive the value of the spin phonon coupling constant which determines the lifetime broadening of the different magnetic quantum number m substates of the S=10 ground state. It is shown that the lifetime broadening decreases rapidly on lowering the temperature. When the lifetime becomes longer than the reciprocal of the frequency shift of the proton lines a structure emerges in the NMR spectrum reflecting the ''frozen'' local moment configuration

[en] By reaction of the ligand N,N' bis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxyphenyl)-1,3-phenylenediamine (1), with Fe, Co or Mn salts, three complexes were synthesized where the bis-bidentate ligand is in the bis-semiquinonato oxidation state. Although the m-phenylene linker is known to afford ferromagnetic coupling in diradicals, the antiferromagnetic interaction of intramolecular origin we observed is not unexpected, given the large torsion angles between the semiquinonato and the m-phenylene planes

[en] ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements have been carried out in Mn₁₂O₁₂-acetate clusters at low temperature in order to investigate microscopically the static and dynamic magnetic properties of the molecule in its high-spin S=10 ground state. Below liquid helium temperature it is found that the local hyperfine fields at the proton sites are static as expected for the very slow superparamagnetic relaxation of Mn₁₂O₁₂ at low temperature. The magnitude and distribution of the hyperfine fields can be reproduced to a good approximation by considering only the dipolar interaction of protons with the local Mn magnetic moments and by assigning the magnitude and orientation of the local moments of the different Mn³⁺ and Mn⁴⁺ ions according to an accepted coupling scheme for the total S=10 ground state. The relaxation time of the macroscopic magnetization of the cluster was measured by monitoring the change of the intensity of the ¹H-NMR shifted lines following inversion of the applied magnetic field. This is possible because the sudden change of the field orientation changes the sign of the shift of the NMR lines in the proton spectrum. Although important differences are noticed, the relaxation time of the magnetization as measured indirectly by the ¹H-NMR method is comparable to the one obtained directly with a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. In particular we could reproduce the minima in the relaxation time as a function of magnetic field at the fields for level crossing, minima which are considered to be a signature of the quantum tunneling of the magnetization

[en] We investigate the relaxation time, τ, of a dilute Glauber kinetic Ising chain obtained by ac susceptibility and SQUID magnetometry on a Co(II)-organic radical Ising 1D ferrimagnet doped with Zn(II). Theoretically we predicted a crossover in the temperature-dependence of τ, when the average segment is of the same order of the correlation length. Comparing the experimental results with theory we conclude that in the investigated temperature range the correlation length exceeds the finite length also in the pure sample

[en] The spin dynamics in the helical chain Co(hfac)₂NITPhOMe has been investigated by ¹H NMR and μSR relaxation. In the temperature range 15< T<60 K, the results are consistent with the relaxation of the homogeneous magnetization. For T≤15 K, NMR and μSR evidence a second spin relaxation mechanism, undetected by the magnetization measurements. From the analysis of these data, insights on this novel relaxation process are derived