Substrate-Independent Magnetic Bistability in Monolayers of the Single-Molecule Magnet Dy 2 ScN@C 80 on Metals and Insulators

Magnetic hysteresis is demonstrated for monolayers of the single-molecule magnet (SMM) Dy ScN@C deposited on Au(111), Ag(100), and MgO|Ag(100) surfaces by vacuum sublimation. The topography and electronic structure of Dy ScN@C adsorbed on Au(111) were studied by STM. X-ray magnetic CD studies show that the Dy ScN@C monolayers exhibit similarly broad magnetic hysteresis independent on the substrate used, but the orientation of the Dy ScN cluster depends strongly on the surface. DFT calculations show that the extent of the electronic interaction of the fullerene molecules with the surface is increasing dramatically from MgO to Au(111) and Ag(100). However, the charge redistribution at the fullerene-surface interface is fully absorbed by the carbon cage, leaving the state of the endohedral cluster intact. This Faraday cage effect of the fullerene preserves the magnetic bistability of fullerene-SMMs on conducting substrates and facilitates their application in molecular spintronics.