Investigation of the magnetic coupling between an antiferromagnetic metal-organic network and a ferromagnetic substrate

Lanthanide-gold alloys have been found to present magnetic behavior at the monolayer limit, being an appealing system to investigate magnetism at the 2D limit, where each lanthanide presents distinct magnetic anisotropy. Two-dimensional magnetism can also be achieved by combining molecular linkers and metallic atoms at surfaces, affording metal-organic networks that can present ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic ground-states. The synthesis of magnetic metal-organic networks on ferromagnetic substrates can lead to a wide variety of systems, making it possible to tailor their magnetic properties. The goal of this proposal is to investigate the fundamental properties of an antiferromagnetic Co-based metal-organic network prepared by on-surface synthesis on Dy2Au, a ferromagnetic 2D alloy. We intend to get insights into the chemical state, charge anisotropy, magnetic anisotropy, orientation of spin axis and quantum numbers. The chemical, electronic and magnetic properties of the metal-organic networks grown on the 2D ferromagnet will be measured by X-ray absorption (XAS), linear dichroism (XLD) and magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). We propose investigating the magnetic coupling between the antiferromagnetic network and the ferromagnetic substrate, including magnetic transitions with the temperature and a possible exchange bias effect, while assessing the transitions in hysteresis of the ferromagnet, thus propelling the advance for magnetic heterostructures, spin valves and magnetic memory devices.