Recent advancements of photo-responsive lanthanide single-molecule magnets

The dynamic regulation of single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior remains challenging but extremely critical to practical applications. Efficient manipulation of magnetization of complexes via external stimulus, like solvent, pressure, electric potential or light may further extend the scope of applications for these magnetic molecules. Among these, light is highly desirable because it can provide high-contrast, sensitive and remote control of magnetic behavior at relatively high spatial and temporal resolution. Lanthanide (Ln) complexes represent a distinctive platform for constructing photo-responsive SMMs owing to their extreme sensitivity to subtle change of crystal field (CF) environment. Despite the numerous potential benefits and unique advantages outlined above, light control of magnetism of Ln-SMMs still faces several challenges. This review briefly summarizes recent advancements of photo-responsive Ln-SMMs with photochromic characteristic, highlighting the significance of photoinduced structural changes or electronic distribution alterations to modulate the magnetic properties, which may throw light on the future improvements of photo-responsive molecular materials. [Display omitted] Recent advancements of photo-responsive lanthanide single-molecule magnets Photo-responsive lanthanide single-molecule magnets have great potential in spintronics, high-density information storage and quantum computing. Recent advancements in their rational design, synthesis and dynamic regulation of magnetic behaviors were reviewed.