National High Magnetic Fields Laboratory (LNCMI) - CNRS & Université Grenoble Alpes, “Molecular Magnetism Research Team”, 25 rue des Martyrs 38042 Grenoble – France
Magneto-chiral dichroism (MChD) is a non-reciprocal manifestation of light-matter interaction that can be observed in magnetized chiral systems. It features an unbalanced absorption of unpolarized light on dependence of the applied magnetic field direction and the chirality of the systems1.So far, it has been observed only rarely in molecular systems.
Aim of this seminar is to report on the magneto-optical properties of enantiopure paramagnetic complexes and magnetically ordered molecular materials that I have recently investigated through visible light absorption. In particular, I will describe the MChD investigation on a MnIICrIII chiral heterometallic 2D-layered molecule-based ferrimagnet1 and a MnIII-based 1D coordination polymer showing weak ferromagnetism.
These studies, which open the door for the first systematic structure/properties investigations of MChD in chiral magnetized systems, are expected to provide useful insights for a better understanding of this effect, which has been proposed as one of the possible origins of homochirality of life on Earth.1
1. G. L. J. A. Rikken and E. Raupach, Observation of Magneto-Chiral Dichroism, Nature 1997, 390, 493-494.
2. M. Atzori et al., A Chiral Prussian Blue Analogue Pushes Magneto-Chiral Dichroism Limits, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b10970
